Service-Learning:

#1 Service-learning uses community service as the vehicle for the attainment of students‘ academic goals and objectives.

#2 Community service fills a need in the community through volunteer efforts. Provides students with opportunities to use newly acquired skills and knowledge in real-life situations.

#3 It identifies in advance, and tracks, specific learning objectives and goals (as well as the intangible ones).

#4 Students perform a valuable, significant, and necessary service which has real consequence to the community.

#5 The goal of the service is to empower students and those being served.

#6 The needs of the community dictate the service being provided.

Benefits of Service Learning:

- Increases relevancy of education to students ’living in a real world’

- Enhances personalized education for students

- Teaches positive values, leadership, citizenship and personal responsibility

- Empowers students as learners, teachers, achievers and leaders

- Invites students to become members of their own community

• • Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) is the largest annual service event in the world that highlights and celebrates the positive contributions youth make to their communities every day of the year.
  • Millions of youth – ages 5 to 25 – will participate in the 21st Annual GYSD event April 24-26, 2009, by designing and leading service-learning projects impacting a range of issues, from literacy and the environment, to healthcare, hunger, and help for the elderly.
  • In Florida, over 70 youth service projects are planned to celebrate GYSD (see link below for list of GYSD activities/programs in Florida.)
  • State Farm Companies Foundation is the Presenting Sponsor of Global Youth Service Day. Additionally, State Farm provides Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants for young people, teachers or service-learning coordinators to fund projects featured during GYSD.

Helpful Links

• • http://www.gysd.org/events/2009/us/FL – for list of GYSD activities/programs in Florida.
  • http://ysa.org/AwardsGrants/StateFarmGoodNeighborServiceLearningGrants/StateFarmGrantees2009/tabid/340/Default.aspx – for information about Florida programs that received State Farm Good Neighbor Grants in support of youth service learning and GYSD.
  • http://www.ysa.org/ – for more information about Youth Service America
  • http://www.gysd.org/ – for more information about GYSD
  • http://www.statefarm.com/_pdf/serv_learn.pdf – for more about State Farm’s commitment to service learning

Full Story
FLORIDA – Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) is the largest annual service event in the world. It engages millions of young people and focuses national attention on their leadership. Millions of youth – ages 5 to 25 – will participate in the 21st Annual GYSD three-day event April 24-26, 2009, by designing and leading service-learning projects impacting a range of areas, from literacy and the environment, to healthcare, hunger, and help for the elderly. Over 70 youth service projects are planned in Florida to celebrate GYSD.

The goals of Global Youth Service Day are:
a. To MOBILIZE youth to identify and address the needs of their communities through service.
b. To SUPPORT youth on a life-long path of service and civic engagement.
c. To EDUCATE the public, the media, and policymakers about the year-round contributions of young people as community leaders.

The State Farm Companies Foundation is the presenting sponsor for GYSD. The Foundation also supports U.S. and Canadian Lead Agencies with planning grants to help coordinate a citywide, regional or statewide GYSD celebration recognizing youth service activities. In addition, the State Farm Companies Foundation provides State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants for young people, teachers or service-learning coordinators to fund projects featured during GYSD.

GYSD and the grants are administered by Youth Service America (YSA), a resource center that partners with thousands of organizations committed to increasing the quality and quantity of volunteer opportunities for young people, ages 5-25, to serve locally, nationally, and globally. Founded in 1986, YSA’s mission is to expand the impact of the youth service movement with communities, schools, corporations, and governments. YSA has been one of State Farm’s service-learning partners since 2000.

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State Farm Contact
Michal Connolly, State Farm Public Affairs Specialist, 863-318-3088 or 813-307-8559, cell

About State Farm
State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm’s 17,000 agents and 68,000 employees serve about 80 million policies and accounts: more than 78 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 32 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.