Press Release - Monday, February 26, 2007
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Check presentation and award ceremony honors young leaders from Jacobs High School, Chicago Urban League and IIT
CHICAGO - Today, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, Secretary of State Jesse White and representatives from State Farm® saluted three Illinois institutions whose hard work and dedication to community earned them a combined total of nearly $216,000 in service-learning grants.
The Harry D. Jacobs High School in Algonquin, the Chicago Urban League and the Illinois Institute of Technology are the three Illinois grant winners selected by the State Farm Youth Advisory Board, a diverse group of 30 student leaders who were chosen through a competitive process to oversee State Farm's innovative, youth-led service-learning initiative.
The advisory board reviewed more than 360 grant requests and issued 44 awards in the categories of disaster preparedness, driver safety, financial education and access to higher education. The three Illinois winners are:
Harry D. Jacobs High School - Algonquin ($92,000 grant - Driver Safety) - The mission of Jacob High School's Project Ignition team is to expand their "In the Blink of an Eye" safety awareness program by mentoring youth leaders from the Great Lakes Region. The project aims to promote safety awareness and decrease the number of teen-driving tragedies. Project Ignition emphasizes that driving is a strength and a privilege, not a weakness that takes away the right to live.
Chicago Urban League ($53,935.71 grant - Financial Education) - In 1999, the Chicago Urban League initiated the Youth Investor/Entrepreneur Project (YIEP). In partnership with Brooks College Prep Academy and King College Prep High School, the project now will offer financial literacy courses to an additional 200 participants a year, including 50 additional teens and 150 adults.
Illinois Institute of Technology - Chicago ($70,000 grant - Disaster Preparedness) - This project stresses that young people acquire proficiency in life saving skills, including Basic First Aid, CPR and Automated External Defibrillation (AED) certifications, and gain experiential knowledge of community service by becoming the disaster preparedness educators and facilitators for their families, school, and community. They will develop, educate, and mentor State Farm/CAHMCP Youth Community Survival Teams composed of Chicago area inner-city high school students.
"Through service learning, Illinois students become more actively engaged in their studies while becoming leaders in their communities," Quinn said. "We want to salute these young leaders who are taking action to better their schools, their neighborhoods and their communities."
"It is an honor to commend these young people, who will be the future leaders of this great country, as they commit themselves to helping others," White said. "The people of Illinois can be very proud of the work they are doing."
Secretary of State White is a longtime advocate for improving public safety. White is a leading force behind the movement to reduce teen-driving tragedies in Illinois, recently introducing legislation to improve teen driver laws.
Lt. Governor Quinn's office continues to expand service learning in Illinois, agreeing in 2006 to administer the state's Learn and Serve America program through an intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). As a result, more school districts are receiving grants to help create or expand service-learning opportunities - and more than 45,000 Illinois students will volunteer during the 2006-2007 school year.
Quinn also is an active advocate for increasing access to life-saving Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). He joined with the General Assembly to create the Heartsaver AED Fund, which provides matching grants for defibrillator purchases to public schools, park districts, and public colleges and universities. Quinn was also instrumental in creating a checkoff on the Illinois income tax return that encourages Illinois citizens to donate to the AED Fund.
State Farm's service-learning grant program is designed to help young leaders throughout the United States and Canada to expand and develop programs that improve their communities. The young leaders of the Youth Advisory Board identify problem areas, issue competitive grants, and provide technical assistance, communication and oversight to award winners.
"State Farm supports service-learning because it combines service to the community with classroom curriculum in a hands-on approach to mastering subject material while fostering civic responsibility," said Mark Oakley, Vice President - Operations for State Farm's Great Lakes Zone. "The State Farm Youth Advisory Board is a prime example of State Farm's commitment to education, our community and our youth."
For more information about service learning, please visit: www.ServeAndLearn.org.
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