State Farm® Community Citizenship
State Farm Companies Foundation was established in 1963 as an independent private foundation. The Foundation is primarily committed to education, helping to raise the level of student achievement in our elementary and secondary schools, as well as supporting key higher education initiatives.
State Farm is committed to service-learning, an innovative teaching strategy that uses the school’s curriculum to address a community problem. Service-learning programs not only teach students about issues that have real-world importance, but also provide a golden opportunity for them to have a positive, direct impact on their community while using and increasing their academic skills.
Good Neighbor Service-Learning Initiative
The State Farm Companies Foundation, in collaboration with the National Service-Learning Partnership, awards grants to six K-12 school districts to increase the practice of service-learning through the development of mutually beneficial partnerships among schools, businesses and communities.
Grantees work with local and regional State Farm® associates to pilot service-learning projects that respond to specific community and homeowner issues. Grantees collaborate with State Farm and the National Service-Learning Partnership to establish a sustainable, local service-learning partnership of teachers, students, district leaders, community representatives, and business organizations.
State Farm provides each school district $5,000, renewable for three years, to support service-learning project costs, including planning, training, materials, supplies, and transportation. The Partnership, with its member organizations, provides school districts with training and technical assistance support.
For details, visit www.service-learningpartnership.org.
Project Ignition
Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for American teens; making it one of the most important subjects we can address to protect the safety of our nation’s youth. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the fatality rate for drivers age 16 to 19 years, based on miles driven, is four times that of drivers age 25 to 69 years. In 2005, nearly 7,500 15- to 20-year-old drivers were involved in fatal crashes.
That’s why we are strong supporters of Project Ignition - a forum through which students develop communication programs that address risky driving behaviors such as seat belt use, speeding, impaired driving and distractions while behind the wheel, such as using a cell phone, eating or fumbling for a CD.
Schools involved in this program select a topic and plan a way to market and communicate their message. Students in different subject areas combine their efforts to create a public awareness campaign to spread messages in their schools and communities through television, online videos, demonstrations at school, mock crashes and other community events.
Project Ignition, introduced in January 2004, is sponsored by State Farm’s Marketing Department in partnership with the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC).
Through a competitive process, 25 schools across the United States each receive a $2,000 grant in September to implement their communication campaigns. Up to 10 of the projects completed by the end of November are selected for competition at the State Farm Companies Foundation-sponsored National.
Service-Learning Conference convened by NYLC. One school is selected as the winner and receives a $10,000 grant to continue their safety program.
Youth Advisory Board
The State Farm Youth Advisory Board is a group of 30 diverse youth (ages 17-20) who administer a unique grant program that empowers youth to take an active role in their education through service-learning. By administering service-learning grants ranging from $25,000-$100,000, the board empowers youth to create sustainable change in local communities across the United States and Canada.
For more information and view projects in your area, go to www.statefarmyab.com.
