Idaho High School Wins National Teen Safe Driving Contest and $10,000

NORTHBROOK, Ill., May 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Thousands of teens have been organizing safe driving activities for the last six months in more than 300 high schools around the country as a part of the Act Out Loud Contest®, sponsored by The Allstate Foundation and National Organizations for Youth Safety®. This year's winner, Lake City High School Business Professionals of America (BPA) chapter in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, was selected based on their participation in three safe driving projects.

Each team of high school students that participated in Act Out Loud engaged in three projects: a Safe-Tee Shirt design, a Creative Community Sign, and a Facebook Yearbook application--where teens could contact their members of Congress and express their support for stronger teen driving laws. Teams earned points for completing each project, with Lake City High School accumulating the most points. Special Judge's Choice and Runner-Up Awards were also awarded.

"The teens made it happen and it was a full school effort. Administration, faculty, and the students all had a major part in creating activities that the whole school could participate in," said Dan Armstrong, advisor for the Business Professionals of America chapter at Lake City High School. "In the end, the teens and everyone at our school will be safer, better drivers on the road because of the Act Out Loud program."

The Lake City High School BPA chapter led in each phase of the overall contest. For the Safe-Tee shirt design portion of the contest, students at the school created more than 600 entries. The one design that was selected and entered into the Act Out Loud contest finished among the contest's top 25 designs. For the Creative Sign phase, they created a banner with a list of Idaho passenger restrictions to help raise awareness of these laws. For the Facebook Yearbook application, they rallied the whole school to get involved and used this online platform to pledge to be safe drivers this summer, which is the deadliest season for teens on the road.

As the grand prize winner, Lake City High School will be awarded $10,000, a private concert from rising musical artist Skyler, and a taped broadcast from their school that will air on Channel One News which will be seen by nearly six million young people in middle schools and high schools across the country.

"Car crashes are the number one killer of teens.  In fact, younger, inexperienced drivers crash four times more often than older drivers," said Vicky Dinges, Allstate Vice President, Social Responsibility. "By acting out loud for safe teen driving, students from Lake City High School now have funding for their school's safe driving programs. More importantly, those students will go into the summer months aware of dangers on the road and be even more prepared to get behind the wheel safely."

Additional winners from the Act Out Loud contest included:

Runner Up Winners:
Ada High School, Ada, Okla.
Conroe High School, Conroe, Texas
Fatima R-3, Westphalia, Mo.
Oconee County High School, Watkinsville, Ga.
Stafford Technical Center, Rutland, Vt.

Judges' Choice Winners:
Cape Coral High School, Cape Coral, Fla.
Fulda High School, Fulda, Minn.
John A. Dubiski Career High School, Grand Prairie, Texas
North High School, Bakersfield, Calif.
Stuarts Draft High School, Stuarts Draft, Va.

Act Out Loud winners are announced each May as part of National Youth Traffic Safety Month®. Now in its sixth year, National Youth Traffic Safety Month engages youth from across the country in peer-to-peer education efforts to address the number one cause of death for teens in the U.S. - traffic crashes(1).

For more information about the contest, visit www.ActOutLoud.org.

About The Allstate Foundation
Established in 1952, The Allstate Foundation is an independent, charitable organization made possible by subsidiaries of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL). Through partnerships with nonprofit organizations across the country, The Allstate Foundation brings the relationships, reputation and resources of Allstate to support innovative and lasting solutions that enhance people's well-being and prosperity. With a focus on teen safe driving and building financial independence for domestic violence survivors, The Allstate Foundation also promotes safe and vital communities; tolerance, inclusion, and diversity; and economic empowerment. For more information, visit www.AllstateFoundation.org.

About National Organizations for Youth Safety
National Organizations for Youth Safety® (NOYS) is a coalition of national organizations and federal agencies who serve youth and focus on youth safety and health. Through the coalition, NOYS influences more than 80 million young people and their adult advisors. The mission of NOYS is to promote youth empowerment and leadership, and build partnerships that save lives, prevent injuries, and enhance safe and healthy lifestyles among all youth. For more information, visit www.noys.org.

(1) Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

SOURCE The Allstate Foundation