15 Teachers Vying For Half A Million Dollars In Educational Grants, Public To Decide Winners

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., Sept. 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Farmers Insurance® announced today that 15 teachers across the country are finalists for one of five $100,000 grants as part of the insurer group's Thank America's Teachers® Dream Big Teacher Challenge®. The program awards grants to teachers who "dream big" to bring bold ideas, innovative teaching methods and impactful community projects to their schools.

Each teacher is now one step closer to winning a $100,000 Dream Big Teacher Challenge grant from Farmers^®. Voting from September 29 through October 29, 2017 will determine which five of the 15 finalists will have the funds to bring their proposal to life.

The 15 finalists were selected from hundreds of applications and went through a competitive evaluation and review process. The following 15 teachers, listed in alphabetical order, are hoping to make a difference in their classrooms, schools and entire communities:

• Daniel Almanza (Don Bosco Technical Institute) Rosemead, California
• Tracy Brosch (Sunrise Elementary) De Soto, Missouri
• TuesD Chambers (Ballard High School) Seattle, Washington
• Eric Day (South River High School) Edgewater, Maryland
• Jessica Embacher (Adelbrook) Cromwell, Connecticut
• Laura Holborow (John P. Stevens High School) Edison, New Jersey
• Sherrie Johnson (Clinton High School) Clinton, Oklahoma
• Joseph Menchey (Samuel Clemens High School) Schertz, Texas
• Patricia Morgan (Stevenson Middle School) Honolulu, Hawaii
• Jacqueline Narvaez (Alliance Academy) Oakland, California
• Linda Noble (Brooklyn College Academy) Brooklyn, New York
• Ro Osano (Castaic Middle School) Castaic, California
• Lee Smith (Mount Pleasant Area Junior/Senior High School) Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania
• Susan Thomas (Homecroft Kindergarten Academy) Indianapolis, Indiana
• Bryan Turner (Milwee Middle School) Longwood, Florida

"Each finalist embodies everything we celebrate in teachers on World Teachers' Day October 5, and I urge individuals to vote in support of these amazing educators to make their big dreams a reality," said Tu-Han Phan, managing lead of Thank America's Teachers for Farmers Insurance. "These grant proposals run the gamut from outdoor learning facilities to mindful learning centers, expanding education beyond the classroom walls while involving the local community in the process."

Finalists' proposals are currently available for public voting at ThankAmericasTeachers.com. Individuals are encouraged to vote through October 29, 2017 for any of the 15 teacher proposals, but a person can only vote once for the same teacher proposal per day. In December, the five teachers with the highest vote count will each receive a $100,000 educational grant, totaling $500,000 for the Dream Big Teacher Challenge.

About Thank America's Teachers

Through Thank America's Teachers, Farmers has invested over $3 million dollars in educational grants since 2014. The public helps determine who receives the grants at ThankAmericasTeachers.com. Farmers awards 180 grants valued at $2,500 throughout the year, in addition to the five $100,000 Dream Big Teacher Challenge^® grants, awarded at the end of this year.

About Farmers Insurance

"Farmers Insurance®" and "Farmers®" are tradenames for a group of affiliated insurers providing insurance for automobiles, homes and small businesses and a wide range of other insurance and financial services and products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 10 million households with over 19 million individual policies nationally through the efforts of more than 48,000 exclusive and independent agents and approximately 21,000 employees. Farmers Insurance Exchange, the largest of the three primary insurers that are part of the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies^®, is recognized as one of the largest U.S. companies on the 2017 Fortune 500 list.

For more information about Farmers Insurance, visit Farmers.com, Twitter and Instagram, @WeAreFarmers, or Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.

SOURCE Farmers Insurance