State Farm® supports school-based service-learning because it promotes excellence in public schools. Service-learning is a teaching approach integrating service to the community with classroom curriculum through a hands-on approach. Students address community needs while strengthening their academic performance. They also learn civic responsibility and develop meaningful leadership and workplace skills. Research indicates that school-based service-learning encourages students to become active participants in their education. State Farm appreciates benefits of all service-learning programs, but focuses its support on school-based service-learning for K-12 public schools, teachers and students. We do this because public schools are the educational hub for the majority of students and one in which every tax payer invests.

Through the State Farm Companies Foundation, State Farm has committed support to the following service-learning partnerships:
· Youth Service America (YSA)
· National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC)
· National Service-Learning Partnership (NSLP)
· National Service-Learning Exchange (NSLE).
Through these partnerships, State Farm supports teachers and students ages 5 to 25 in a variety of service-learning projects.
YSA provides exposure to volunteer service and service-learning for millions of people. Through National & Global Youth Service Day (N/GYSD), YSA spotlights service-learning projects that take place year-round. This increases exposure to the diversity of individual projects and their impacts on the community and education.

NYLC is recognized for its curriculum development leadership and best practices for teachers in school-based service-learning. NYLC hosts the National Service-Learning Conference (NSLC), the largest annual service-learning conference in the world. Through NYLC, State Farm supports the NSLE, a network of volunteer service-learning advocates willing to help schools develop and implement new programs or improve existing ones. Growing to Greatness, the State Farm-sponsored annual state of service-learning report, offers research on service-learning’s benefits on academics and citizenship. This report is free from NYLC.

NSLP is a group of more than 8,500 service-learning organizations and advocates working to promote best practices and making service-learning opportunities available to everyone. It is a national leadership organization dedicated to advancing service-learning as a core element of every elementary, middle and secondary school student in the United States. State Farm supports NSLP’s Service-Learning Advances, a free electronic newsletter for members.

For more about each organization, visit its respective Web site.

Service-learning programs teach students about issues that have real-world importance and provide a golden opportunity for them to have a positive, direct impact on their communities by using and increasing their academic skills. State Farm-sponsored events include annual activities such as National & Global Youth Service Day and the National Service-Learning Conference, as well as on-going or one-time projects that address issues important to the well-being of our business and communities. Some examples include programs about teen driver safety, auto repair, home safety, building codes, senior safety, financial education and property losses. A brief description of some of the events and projects follows.

National & Global Youth Service Day - N/GYSD engages millions of young people and focuses national attention on their leadership. The State Farm Companies Foundation is the presenting sponsor and supports 50 U.S. Lead Agencies with planning grants to help activate celebrations recognizing youth service activities, as well as 100 grants for young people, teachers or service-learning coordinators to fund projects featured during the annual event coordinated by YSA.

National Service-Learning Conference (NSLC) - The conference is convened by NYLC and is the largest gathering of youths and practitioners from the service-learning field. In 2005, the conference drew more than 2,900 enthusiasts from across the United States and 41 other countries. State Farm is the presenting sponsor.

Project Ignition - This partnership between State Farm and NYLC addresses teen driver safety. Through a competitive process, 25 U.S. schools receive $2,000 grants to implement their campaigns. A $10,000 grant is given to the winning school at the National Service-Learning Conference. For details, go to www.nylc.org or www.sfprojectignition.com.

Auto Repair Service-Learning Community Partnership - This program started as a partnership among Philadelphia public schools, State Farm and a group of repair industry partners. A similar program was launched in San Diego (www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050115/news_1m15auto.html). State Farm-led industry partners collaborate with school districts to address the need for highly trained technicians in the auto repair industry. They also focus on providing students skills necessary to be successful in the workplace and community.

State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Initiative - This initiative is designed to build sustainable district-wide service-learning models while creating service-learning projects on issues important to the community and the insurance industry. Made possible by a gift from State Farm, NSLP is funding six school districts to establish partnerships of teachers, students, district leaders, community representatives and business organizations. For details, visit www.service-learningpartnership.org.

State Farm Florida Service-Learning and Home Safety Initiative - In partnership with the Florida Department of Education and Florida State University, State Farm funds this initiative that supports student advocacy and information campaigns to raise awareness about the importance of building codes and disaster preparation. Projects help communities prepare for hurricanes, floods, fires and tornados. For details, go to www.fsu.edu/~flserve.

LISC Community Development Corporation - The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and NSLP, in collaboration with State Farm, are piloting Community Develop Corporation (CDC) projects in Chicago, Milwaukee, Wis., and Lancaster, Pa., to address saving lives and property losses. This service-learning initiative links CDCs with local schools and school districts to address pressing community development issues and to increase students academic achievement and civic engagement.