Farmers Insurance Announces Second Round Winners of $2,500 Grants From the National Thank A Million Teachers Program

LOS ANGELES, June 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Farmers Insurance, one of the nation's largest multiline insurers, announced the second round of 30 winners of its "Thank A Million Teachers" program, a national initiative through which Farmers is inviting America to offer a heartfelt thanks to teachers, present and past, for the positive impact they have had in communities across the nation.  

Since the beginning of the year, more than 670,000 thank yous have been received for teachers on the www.ThankAMillionTeachers.com website. As part of the national program, Farmers invited teachers to submit proposals for $2,500 grants. During the month of May, the public voted on more than 1,500 submitted proposals with the top six vote-getters in five regions selected as winners. In all, Farmers has committed to donating $1 million to teachers and education programs in 2014, including the recent  announcement of its Dream Big Teacher Challenge that will award five teachers grants of $100,000 to transform their schools and communities.

"The 30 teachers who are receiving grants are exemplary educators and devoted to their students with a clear vision of how to improve learning in their classrooms.  Farmers is proud to be able to grant these teachers with the funds necessary to help advance education in communities throughout America," said Randy Rice, National Manager of Education Programs for Farmers Insurance.  "It's also been exciting to see communities across the country rally around local teachers as they vie to win one of  the $2,500 grants."

Among the grant winners:

• Annette Levine, who teaches at Don Estridge High Tech Middle School in Boca Raton, Fla., wants to give her students the tools to compete academically with students from across the country.  With her grant, she intends to acquire mini tablets to virtually visit the best museums, galleries and photography exhibits and virtually attend classical music concerts as her students strengthen their Language Arts by creating essays about their experiences.
• Robin Jones is a first grade teacher at Winnequah Elementary School in Monona, Wis.  With her grant she will expand upon the school's garden to make it a true living outdoor classroom.  She envisions enhancing teaching opportunities about the importance of taking care of the environment and thinking and planning in a sustainable manner.
• Paula Isaacson believes technology is a great motivator for her students at Crest View Elementary School in Boulder, Colo.  Her grant will permit her to purchase e-tablets so that her students can experience learning in a new and expanded way.  She envisions her students taking photographs of a caterpillar's change into a butterfly and having them create a book and a quiz utilizing some of the applications available through the e-tablet.
• Carolyn Pridemore teaches in a small, rural town in central Missouri.  At Southern Boone Primary School in Ashland, Mo., her students are continually challenged by the lack of books available to complete her lessons.  She knows her students can thrive and further their learning by having access to a wider array of books.  She intends to purchase books to ensure each child gets a book to read with each new lesson.
• Debra Krikourian teaches more than 300 students the fun and excitement of engineering at Sutter Middle School in Folsom, Calif. She leads her students in the use of engineering design to create science projects for regional and statewide competitions.  She will use her funds to allow her students to build projects such as community gardens, robotics, solar powered go-karts and much more.

Below is a complete list of winners (note to editors, details of the winning proposals and access to the winning teachers are available by contacting Farmers Media Relations representatives listed above):

Farmers Insurance is working in partnership with AdoptAClassroom.org, a national non-profit, to help teachers acquire the supplies and equipment they have requested in their proposals.

Farmers announced the launch of the Thank A Million Teachers program in late December at a special event featuring Jack Black, who thanked his former teacher Debbie Devine, who he credited with saving his life.  Several days later, Farmers brought additional attention to its campaign to thank educators across America with its Thank A Million Teachers New Year's Day float in the Tournament of Roses parade.

The ThankAMillionTeachers.com website is continuously accepting the public's thank you's and posts a live tally of the number of thank yous received so far.  It is also the place where teachers can submit their proposals for the chance to win grants of $2,500 or Dream Big Challenge grants of $100,000. The two different grant programs have differing submission and eligibility criteria.  Teachers are encouraged to review both of the grant programs and submit proposals accordingly.

About Farmers Insurance
Farmers Insurance Group of Companies is a leading U.S. insurer group of automobiles, homes and small businesses and also provides a wide range of other insurance and financial services products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 10 million households with more than 20 million individual policies across all 50 states through the efforts of over 50,000 exclusive and independent agents and approximately 22,000 employees.

For more information about Farmers, visit its Web site at www.farmers.com or at www.Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.

About AdoptAClassroom.org
AdoptAClassroom.org is a national 501(C) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to giving teachers a hand through the provision of essential classroom supplies so that students can succeed. Many teachers spend as much as $1,000 annually of their own money to equip their classrooms. Since 1998 AdoptAClassroom.org has raised over $20 million to benefit classrooms across America. AdoptAClassroom.org has earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. To adopt a classroom, visit http://www.adoptaclassroom.org.

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SOURCE Farmers Insurance