Markel American Insurance Company Partners with the Cinderella Project MKE

WAUKESHA, Wis., Feb. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Markel American Insurance Company, a wedding and event insurance provider, will be donating a collection of formal dresses to the Cinderella Project MKE, a Milwaukee based program that collects and donates gently used prom and bridesmaid dresses to local students who may have financial difficulties attending their high school prom, on Thursday, March 1st.

Markel receives a number of formal or bridesmaid dresses from wedding cancellation claims each year. "In the auto industry, when a car is totaled and the owner does not retain the salvage, an insurance company will look to sell the salvage to offset the cost of the claim," explains Lisa Kozik, Claims Manager at Markel. "In almost all instances, the dresses we retain from our wedding cancellation insurance claims are brand new. Rather than selling the dresses, we wanted to do something different. We decided to donate the dresses to a worthy cause instead."

That worthy cause ended up being the Cinderella Project MKE, which was founded by the Gadzuric Foundation and started by Dan Gadzuric, former Milwaukee Bucks center, and his wife, Lisette, an avid volunteer in the Milwaukee community. "Prom is an important milestone for any high school student," Lisette says, "but it can also be very expensive, which can prevent some well-deserving students from attending. We've seen similar programs across the country, but didn't know of any in the Milwaukee area so we decided to start one of our own." Since 2010, the Cinderella Project MKE has helped over 500 students in the Milwaukee area attend their high school prom. Area residents interested in helping the cause are encouraged to drop off their new or slightly used prom and bridesmaid dresses at Luci Boutique, located at 532 North Water Street in Milwaukee. Donations can be made:

10:00am - 8:00pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
10:00am - 10:00pm Thursday, Friday, Saturday
12:00pm - 6:00pm Sunday

The dresses will be used at this year's Cinderella Project MKE Annual Dress Giveaway. This year's event will be held Saturday, March 10th from 8:00 am – 1:30 pm at the Destiny Youth Plaza in Milwaukee and will feature a variety of workshops on etiquette, relationships, and health, in addition to the dress giveaway. Students interested in attending The Cinderella Project MKE Annual Dress Giveaway can apply online until March 10th.

About Markel American Insurance Company
Markel American Insurance Company (part of Markel Corporation) is a specialty insurance provider that offers specialized event cancellation and event liability coverages for events including (but not limited to) weddings, baptisms, birthdays, business meetings, and non-profit functions. For more information, visit www.markeleventinsurance.com.

About Markel Corporation
Markel Corporation markets and underwrites specialty insurance products and programs to a variety of niche markets. In each of these markets, the Company seeks to provide quality products and excellent customer service so that it can be a market leader. The financial goals of the Company are to earn consistent underwriting profits and superior investment returns to build shareholder value. For more information on the Markel Group of companies, please visit www.markelcorp.com.

About Gadzuric Foundation
The Gadzuric Foundation's mission is to eliminate negative barriers affecting youth and their families, replacing these obstacles by fostering self-esteem with positive experiences that build autonomy, enhancing the community. For more information, please visit www.gadzuricfoundation.org.

SOURCE Markel American Insurance Company