Project Ignition Winners Announced

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for American teens; making it one of the most important subjects we can address to protect the safety of our nation’s youth. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the fatality rate for drivers age 16 to 19 years, based on miles driven, is four times that of drivers age 25 to 69 years. In 2005, nearly 7,500 15- to 20-year-old drivers were involved in fatal crashes.

One of the most effective ways to reach teens to help influence their decision-making and reduce risky driving is through peer education.

Since 1922, State Farm has been dedicated to meeting our customers’ needs not only by providing the best product at the best price – but also by helping build safe, strong and educated communities. Being a good neighbor in our communities is nothing new to us. It’s part of our company heritage.

That’s why we are strong supporters of Project Ignition - a forum through which students develop communication programs that address risky driving behaviors such as seat belt use, speeding, impaired driving and distractions while behind the wheel, such as using a cell phone, eating or fumbling for a CD.

Schools involved in this program select a topic and plan a way to market and communicate their message. Students in different subject areas combine their efforts to create a public awareness campaign to spread messages in their schools and communities through television, online videos, demonstrations at school, mock crashes and other community events.

As the nation’s largest insurer of automobiles, State Farm® feels compelled to take a leadership position on the issue of teen driver safety through grant support of Project Ignition. This initiative is one of many programs that make State Farm an auto safety leader.

Our agents live in the communities they insure, so we feel strongly about this issue, which over and over again has such a devastating affect on families, schools and communities. Agents get involved by presenting checks and providing expertise while becoming familiar with the young drivers in their areas.

Project Ignition, introduced in January 2004, is sponsored by State Farm’s Marketing Department in partnership with the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC).

Through a competitive process, 25 schools across the United States each receive a $2,000 grant in September to implement their communication campaigns. Up to 10 of the projects completed by the end of November are selected for competition at the State Farm Companies Foundation-sponsored National. Service-Learning Conference convened by NYLC. One school is selected as the winner and receives a $10,000 grant to continue their safety program.

State Farm is committed to service-learning, an innovative teaching strategy that uses the school’s curriculum to address a community problem. Service-learning programs not only teach students about issues that have real-world importance, but also provide a golden opportunity for them to have a positive, direct impact on their community while using and increasing their academic skills.

As it moves through its third decade, NYLC remains focused on its mission to “build vital, just communities with young people through service-learning.” The National Service-Learning Conference is the largest gathering of youths and practitioners from the field. In 2005, it drew more than 2,700 service-learning enthusiasts from across the United States and 41 other countries.)

View a list of the schools, their project title and description, and read more information about the program.

And the winner is...

For more information visit the Project Ignition web site.
Printable Overview of Project Ignition (PDF 39 KB)
For more information visit the NYLC web site.