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The National Youth Leadership Council Launches Teen Safe Driving Campaign

MINNEAPOLIS, March 9 -- State Farm(R) and the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) announce the launch of a new nationwide service- learning project for high school students! Project Ignition '05 will showcase top service-learning projects (projects that combine service to the community with learning objectives), created by teenagers for teenagers, on an important issue affecting young people. For 2005, the topic is Teen Driver Safety -- a particularly appropriate choice as car crashes are the #1 killer of our youth.

Project Ignition is an opportunity for students and teachers in various classes to work together to create a public awareness campaign for their school and/or community on the subject of Teen Driver Safety. Step one includes an application by interested schools signaling their idea and process. The focus of the program is primarily on communication, how students choose to address and educate their peers on teen driver safety is up to them. Approximately 25 project ideas will be selected and awarded a $2,000 grant -- funded by State Farm -- to make their project a reality.

All completed applications must have both principal and faculty signatures and be postmarked by April 15, 2004. Check out www.sfprojectignition.com for an application, thought starters, safety tips and more.

The grantees will be announced by June 5, 2004, and will implement their programs when school begins in the fall for completion by December, 2004. Each school will be recognized on the Project Ignition Web site, and completed projects will be judged by a representative panel of teachers, students, NYLC and State Farm. Ten finalists will be selected and each will receive a travel stipend provided by State Farm to present or perform their project at the 2005 National Service-Learning Conference in Long Beach, California, where the festival will be a featured event. The project selected by a panel of judges as Best of Festival at the 2005 conference will receive a grant of $10,000.

"It's an outstanding opportunity for schools and students ... and for the long-term safety of all teen drivers in your community," states Jim Kielsmeier, president of the National Youth Leadership Council, based in Minnesota. "Our goal with this entire program is to help students be able to effectively deliver the right message at the right time to the right audience. When this happens, effective learning takes place and these students will be able to measure how effectively they have communicated to their peers," states Rick Resetar, Assistant Vice President, Property & Casualty Marketing, State Farm.

State Farm supports service-learning because it strengthens student achievement by helping connect academics with real-world experience. This teaching approach prepares students to be more active citizens, better- educated consumers and more qualified to enter the work force. NYLC, a leading advocate of service-learning since 1983, works with young people, educators, administrators and community leaders to integrate service-learning practices into elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools.