State Farm Youth Advisory Board Grants Junior Achievement Tampa Bay $75,000

SARASOTA, Fla. - April 9, 2013 - PRLog -- MEDIA CONTACT:
Angela Massaro-Fain
(941) 351-0024

State Farm Youth Advisory Board Grants Junior Achievement Tampa Bay $75,000 To Expand Its Impact in Sarasota

Sarasota, Florida – April 9, 2013 – Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay announced that it has received a one-year grant of $75,000 on behalf of the State Farm Youth Advisory Board to support the implementation of the JA Teen Leadership program, which provides high schools in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Sarasota counties an opportunity to fulfill their service-learning graduation requirement, and to act as positive role models for elementary school students.

As a part of this generous grant, students from Riverview High School’s cheerleading squad presented Junior Achievement’s “Our Community” program to the entire second grade at Booker Elementary. The grant also allowed proceeds to extend the JA outreach to all middle schools in Sarasota and deliver the “Economics for Success” program to 1,568 students in the 8th grade. The “Our Community” program explores personal finance and students’ education options based on their skills, interests and values.

Overall, the money from this grant will impact just over 9,000 elementary students throughout Hillsborough, Pinellas and Sarasota counties and 625 area high school students. “Students need the information, values and skills that will prepare them to be smart and careful consumers, reliable workers, innovative business persons and entrepreneurs. JA bridges the gap between the students’ academic studies and the reality of the work world. In Sarasota County alone, JA will reach over 350 students with 20 teen teachers.” stated Maggie Haley, Executive Director of JA Sarasota/ Manatee.

About Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provides relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. Last year, Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay reached 85,406 students in the Tampa Bay area. Visit jatampabay.org for more information.

About State Farm®

State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 37 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com.

Grapevine Communications, a full-service, award-winning Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations firm based in Sarasota and serving clients nationwide, was awarded the 2010 Frank G. Berlin, Sr., “Small Business of the Year” Award by the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. For more information on Grapevine Communications, contact Angela Massaro-Fain at 941-351-0024 or email amf@grapeinc.com