Youth Advisory Board addresses social, financial, educational and safety issues with action

State Farm® invests more than $4.5 million in Youth-led Projects

Bloomington, Ill.- Environmental responsibility was on the minds of youth when considering service-learning projects.

The State Farm Youth Advisory Board, in partnership with State Farm, announced today it will award $4.5 million for youth-led, service-learning based projects to 73 organizations across the United States and Canada.

The grants will be awarded to the organizations in the following ways:

1. $1.6 million will go to 25 organizations for projects focusing on environmental responsibility, new for 2009.
2. $1.3 million will go to 20 organizations for higher education/closing the achievement gap projects.
3. Nearly $800,000 will go to 15 organizations for projects focusing on financial education.
4. Nearly $500,000 will go to nine organizations for disaster preparedness projects.
5. Nearly $300,000 will go to four organizations for projects focusing on driver safety.

More than 500 grant requests were received that focused on environmental responsibility, disaster preparedness, driver safety, higher-education/closing the achievement gap and financial education.

Grants include using paper waste to heat a Superintendent’s home; mentoring programs for at-risk youth; planning and implementing disaster preparedness materials for the Spanish speaking community.

“State Farm has a strong commitment to young people and to the leadership they provide,” Kathy Payne, Director of Education Leadership, said. “We’re excited to see the results and the positive impact these grants will have on communities across the United States and Canada.”

Visit www.statefarmyab.com for more information about the different projects being funded and about the Youth Advisory Board.