Project Ignition Offers Teen Driver Safety Grants To High School Students

ST. PAUL, MN--Aug. 22, 2012: Project Ignition is pleased to announce the availability of $2,000 grants for public high schools to support their students in addressing teen driver safety using service-learning.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car crashes remain the leading cause of death for teens in the United States. Young people, in partnership with teachers and communities, can change this staggering fact through Project Ignition -- a student-led teen driver safety program funded by State Farm® and coordinated by the National Youth Leadership Council®.

"There is no group better equipped to influence teen driving behavior than teens themselves," said Kelita Svoboda Bak, NYLC CEO. "NYLC is proud to partner with State Farm to continue to provide this opportunity for students to use their own ideas and voices to make a tremendous impact on this issue, and ultimately, to save lives."

Project Ignition, now in its ninth year, offers grants to students and their advisors interested in creating impactful awareness campaigns focused on teen driver safety while using service-learning -- a teaching method that combines meaningful community service with classroom instruction. Youth-led teams host events, form community-wide partnerships, work on local and state policy, produce public service announcements, and more.

Public high schools in the United States and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario, and New Brunswick are invited to get involved in Project Ignition by applying for a grant, available at www.sfprojectignition.com. Once applications are received by the deadline of November 15, 2012:

• Twenty-five schools will be chosen to receive $2,000 grants to implement their campaigns from January to April, 2013.
• Ten of these schools will be given the opportunity to receive an additional $2,500 to go deeper with their campaigns during the 2013-2014 school year.
• These ten schools will also receive an additional $5,000 to support their participation in the National Service-Learning Conference®, hosted by NYLC.

Since its inception in 1983, NYLC has worked with youth people and educators to provide meaningful opportunities to work in partnership to serve communities across the U.S. For specific questions about Project Ignition, contact Melissa Mitchell, NYLC Program Manager for Teen Driver Safety, at mmitchell@nylc.org or 1-888-856-7026.

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