Gov. C. L. "Butch" Otter and Farmers Insurance Present Four Idaho Educators with $2,500 Grants as Part of 'Thank A Million Teachers' Program

POCATELLO, Idaho, April 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Farmers Insurance and Idaho Governor C. L. "Butch" Otter honored four local teachers - three from Tyhee Elementary School in Chubbuck and one from I.T. Stoddard Elementary School in Blackfoot – with educational grants of $2,500 for classroom supplies as part of the insurer's "Thank A Million Teachers" national program at a special ceremony held at Tyhee Elementary School, today.

The four Idaho teachers; Sandy Andrus, Linda Empey and Shelley Hardenbrook of Tyhee Elementary School in Chubbuck and Melissa Hunt of I. T. Stoddard Elementary School in Blackfoot, are among 30 winners nationally who were among the top six vote-getters for their proposals in their region.  Across the nation, nearly 2,000 teachers submitted proposals for funding via the thankamillionteachers.com web site.

"Farmers congratulates these four teachers for their accomplishments, for what they have done for the children they teach and the communities they serve," said Randy Rice, National Manager of Education Programs for Farmers Insurance. "We understand that teachers play an integral role in helping children learn and grow smarter and that's why Farmers is excited to provide America with a platform to share their 'thanks' with educators and honor teachers with funding to continue doing what they do best — positively impact the minds of our future leaders."

The four teachers will use their grants in the following ways:

Sandy Andrus will acquire iPads to help her in developing lessons that will enrich vocabulary, language, writing, and math skills for all types of learners while keeping them actively engaged in the learning process;

Linda Empey will use her grant to purchase mini iPads to help her students develop the needed vocabulary and language skills to become successful learners. The iPad technology will supplement her teaching of grade level skills through digital literacy with student centered groups;

Shelley Hardenbrook will be getting a number of non-fiction resources, including a number of informational texts to help her students write research papers, expository stories, detailed reports on animals and gather information on important figures in their community and the United States;

Melissa Hunt will expand the technological resources in her classroom by acquiring a smart board for her students to use, interact, and learn from. It will allow students to view the lessons created on a computer.

In a proclamation issued in February, Gov. Otter recognized Farmers "…for their leadership in helping all of us give recognition to those professionals who help make all of us smart – our teachers and encourage every resident in Idaho to visit the ThankAMillionTeachers.com web site to publicly thank a teacher who has made a difference in their lives."

With more than 500,000 teachers across the United States already thanked since the "Thank A Million Teachers" program launched late last year, Farmers Insurance is far ahead of its stated goal to Thank a Million Teachers in 2014.

As part of the "Thank A Million Teachers" program, Farmers is urging America to thank teachers, past and present, for the positive impact they have had in communities across the nation. Farmers has also invited teachers to submit proposals for $2,500 grants on the www.ThankAMillionTeachers.com website.

In early April, Farmers awarded $2,500 grants to the first group of 30 teachers who had submitted proposals during the first round of submissions in January and February.

Farmers launched the "Thank A Million Teachers" program with Actor Jack Black who offered his thanks to his former teacher.  The insurer further highlighted its commitment to educators with its 2014 Rose Parade float, Thank A Million Teachers, which featured teachers and students participating in the New Year's Day parade.  As of mid-April, the ThankAMillionTeachers.com web site has garnered nearly 500,000 thank yous for teachers across the nation.

During May, Farmers will be inviting the public to vote on the next round of proposals submitted in March and April, with 30 new winners to be announced in June. In all, Farmers has committed to donating $1 million to teachers and education programs in 2014.

For more information about the Farmers Insurance "Thank A Million Teachers" program, or to personally thank one or more of your favorite teachers, visit www.ThankAMillionTeachers.com today.

About Farmers

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 nearly 22,000 employees.

The Farmers Exchanges are three reciprocal insurers (Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange and Truck Insurance Exchange), including their subsidiaries and affiliates, owned by their policyholders. Farmers Group, Inc., along with its subsidiaries, manages the non-claims insurance operations of the Farmers Exchanges. Farmers Group, Inc. is wholly owned by the Zurich Insurance Group. For more information about Farmers, visit its Web site at www.farmers.com or at www.Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.

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SOURCE Farmers Insurance