Two Canadian causes to receive $25,000 grants as Top 40 winners of State Farm®Neighbourhood Assist™
Aurora, ON (May 3, 2013) – After more than 3.4 million votes, State Farm is proud to announce that two Canadian causes are among the top 40 vote winners that will each receive a $25,000 grant to improve the local community.
Nearly 100,000 people took to Facebook and voted for their favourite causes on the State Farm Neighbourhood Assist Facebook application. The Canadian causes that made the Top 40 are:
- TeamUP Science ISC – University of Alberta Edmonton, AB – Providing inner city, rural, and aboriginal high school youth the knowledge necessary for a successful experience within a post-secondary institution.
- Building Hope For Youth – Habitat for Humanity Peterborough Peterborough, ON – Bring youth from all walks of life, educational backgrounds and cultural beliefs together, uniting them in a common goal with a tangible outcome: a safe, decent, and affordable home that will transform the lives of a local family living in need.
“We are so excited to have cracked the top 40 and could not have done it without the amazing support shown by our community!” Exclaims Sara Mountenay, Program Partnership and Resource Development Manager for Habitat for Humanity Peterborough. “We knew the voting process would be an uphill battle, but our local State Farm agents, Not for Profit organizations, businesses and media got behind our cause right away. Student led efforts at local secondary institutions were the driving force behind “Building Hope for Youth’s” voting initiative. These students are so passionate about the project they worked tirelessly to get the word out…we could not have done it without them! This student involvement speaks to why we started our Habitat Youth Program, to give local youth a voice and empower them to affect real change where they live.”
State Farm Neighbourhood Assist is a youth-led philanthropic program that empowers communities to identify issues in their neighbourhood. The affiliated nonprofits of the top 40 causes will each receive a $25,000 grant to create and execute a plan to address the cause.
“Words cannot express how excited, thrilled, and happy we were when we received news that we had placed in the top 40!” Said Bo Zhang, Vice President of Public Relations and Finance at TeamUp Science. “None of this would have been possible without the hard work of our executive team and volunteers, as well as the amazing level of support from our community. We knew that it was going to be a challenging mission, especially against all those other wonderful causes, but with the support and dedication from friends, family, non-profit organizations and student volunteers, we were able to achieve our goal. This competition showed that our community cares passionately about our ISC initiative to promote youth education and activism. And together, we will continue to connect, inspire, and educate youths everywhere!”
Of the 3,000 submissions that were received through State Farm Neighbourhood Assist, at least one cause was received from every eligible province, state and district in Canada and the United States. Then, the State Farm Youth Advisory Board, a diverse group of 30 students who are passionate about social responsibility, reviewed the cause submissions and selected the 200 finalists based on criteria they created.
“The sheer amount of votes and people who participated in this program shows the level of commitment and passion within neighbourhoods to solve local issues,” said Kellie Clapper, Assistant Vice President of External Relations for State Farm. “We look forward to watching the 40 communities across North America make their neighbourhoods safer, stronger, and better educated with the help of the State Farm Youth Advisory Board and State Farm Neighbourhood Assist.”
Click here for a complete list of the top 40 causes or for more information on the program.
About State Farm
State Farm has been serving Canadians since 1938. State Farm is a Fortune 100 company and is the leading Property and Casualty insurer in North America with more than 80 Million policyholders. In addition to providing affordable car insurance rates, State Farm has more than 500 Canadian agents and 1700 employees providing insurance and financial services including mutual funds, life insurance, vehicle loans, critical illness, disability, home and auto insurance to our customers in Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick. For more information, please visit www.statefarm.ca, join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or see us on YouTube.
