State Farm® and Major League Baseball® Rally Together and Score with "GO TO BAT™" Program

BLOOMINGTON, Ill., Oct. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Baseball fans across the country delivered big hits for their favorite charitable organizations as part of the State Farm Go To Bat program. Thousands of fans from coast to coast participated in the online State Farm campaign and helped various charities win $205,000 worth of donations during the second half of the 2011 Major League Baseball (MLB) season.

The charitable initiative, driven by the State Farm commitment to helping communities get to a better state, also will send individual winners who went to bat each week for causes that meant the most to them to Games Three and Four of the 2011 World Series. Also as part of the program culmination, State Farm will award the charity, Population Services International (PSI), a $25,000 donation for finishing the campaign with the highest Go To Bat game batting average.

"Everyone at State Farm is committed to helping our customers and their communities get to a better state," said Todd Fischer, manager of national sponsorships for State Farm. "The charities and individuals we were able to support through the Go To Bat program share similar missions with State Farm in wanting to make a difference for someone who needs it."

State Farm and MLB will shine a spotlight on the Go To Bat program during an on-field recognition ceremony before the first pitch of Game Three of the 2011 MLB World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. The pre-game ceremony at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington will showcase the program's cumulative impact and recognize 11 individual weekly winners and their selected charities.

The Go To Bat program completes a baseball season of giving through the partnership between State Farm and MLB. In July, the two combined to donate $603,000 to charities including Boys & Girls Clubs of America during the 2011 State Farm Home Run Derby in Phoenix, Ariz. After the Home Run Derby, the Go To Bat program pushed the total donation amount given to various charities by State Farm as part of its MLB partnership to $808,000 in 2011.

State Farm encouraged fans to visit www.statefarm.com/gotobat, and go to bat for their favorite causes. Participants selected one of the designated charities on the website, and swung for the fences in the online Go To Bat game in an effort to boost their charity's weekly batting average. Each week, for 10 weeks, the charity with the highest batting average received an $18,000 donation, and one lucky fan was awarded a trip to the Fall Classic. Fans could also increase both their own and their charity's chances of winning by returning to www.statefarm.com/gotobat, playing the online State Farm Go To Bat game on a daily basis, and sharing their participation on Facebook.

The 11 individual weekly winners and charities selected to be honored prior to Game Three of the 2011 World Series:

• Kelly Meeker (Escondido, Calif.) who went to bat for the After-School All-Stars
• Eric Bilsky (Silver Spring, Md.) who went to bat for Population Services International (PSI)
• Maggie Mortali (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who went to bat for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
• Brian Tapley (Houston, Texas) who went to bat for the After-School All-Stars
• Greg Moens (Penfield, NY.) who went to bat for the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH)
• Kathe Cummings (La Palma, Calif.) who went to bat for PSI
• Bill Morrison (Delran, N.J.) who went to bat for PSI
• Neil Graham (Mesa, Ariz.) who went to bat for the After-School All-Stars
• Janice Barry (Homewood, Ill.) who went to bat for the Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes (SADS) Foundation
• Gary Killingsworth (Brentwood, Ca.) who went to bat for the SADS Foundation
• Paula Bordogna (Andover, Ma.) who went to bat for PSI

About State Farm®:

State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 37 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.

About Major League Baseball Properties

The Major League Baseball Clubs formed Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP) in 1966 as the Club's agent for marketing and trademark licensing and protection. Major League Baseball Properties is responsible for managing consumer licensing activities, developing national advertising campaigns, cultivating sponsorship opportunities with major consumer brands and corporations, growing the game and the business of baseball outside the United States and creating national marketing programs in conjunction with Clubs, broadcast rights holders and national sponsors. MLBP also operates a full-service video and audio production unit (Major League Baseball Productions), a publishing division and stock photo licensing agency, and manages logistics for the All-Star Game and World Series as well as all other special events. For more information on Major League Baseball, log on to www.MLB.com.

SOURCE State Farm