The $25,000 Celebrate My Drive ® grant check was presented to California R-I High School before the start of a varsity Pinto boys basketball game against Dixon High School Tuesday, Dec. 9. The check was presented by Paul Bloch, Brian Schmidt and Tammy Korte of the California State Farm Insurance Agency to a group of students and teachers representing the large number involved in the effort to win the national competition, including organizer Librarian Janet Henley. Rep. David Wood was also on hand for the presentation. CHS placed in the top 50 among high schools across North America in the online contest. California won by securing safe-driving commitments (votes) through the Celebrate My Drive ® program created by State Farm. There were 100 schools eligible to receive a grant ranging from $25,000 to $100,000. Nearly 3,300 schools participated in the U.S. and Canada. Including California, 1,659 competed in the small schools category.
"California and the surrounding community really came together, not only for the contest, but in the spirit of safe driving," said California State Farm Agent Bloch. "State Farm is thrilled to see so many people supporting this initiative. Our local school is one of only 50 small schools to win in the country, and one of only two that won in Missouri. It's a great story of how communities, no matter how big or small, can be united around a worthy cause."
The Pintos' winnings will first support a safe-driving campaign at the school. The remainder will provide hardware upgrades to school technology, including i-Pads and laptops.
Car crashes are the No. 1 killer of teens, and a teen's first year on the road is the most dangerous. Using research as a guide, State Farm is approaching teen driver safety, a winnable public health battle, by engaging teens while they learn to drive. State Farm believes Celebrate My Drive is an effective tool to amplify the conversation around the importance of education related to teen driver safety.
State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada.