Woonsocket, Rhode Island (September 1, 2015) – Farmers Insurance℠ announced today that Charles Myers of Woonsocket Area Career & Technical Center in Woonsocket has been named a finalist as part of the company’s Thank America’s Teachers Dream Big Teacher Challenge, awarding teachers for their ideas to help create a lasting and positive impact on their classrooms, schools, and communities.
Local Farmers agent Douglas O’Leary surprised Myers with a visit to his school to share the news about being one of only 15 finalists in the running for one of six $100,000 Dream Big Teacher Challenge grants from Farmers.
“I am so excited to have had the honor of surprising Charles Myers with the news that he is one step closer to winning a $100,000 grant through Thank America's Teachers," said O'Leary . “I invite the Woonsocket community, the state of Rhode Island, and the entire nation to vote to help make Charles' proposal a reality.”
Each teacher’s proposal went through a competitive review process, and Myer’s proposal about developing a school-to-work program was selected to move on to the voting phase of the Dream Big Teacher Challenge.
Many of the homes in Woonsocket are currently abandoned and have become magnets for crime, in turn, dragging down property values. If Myers were to win the $100,000 Dream Big Teacher Challenge grant, he will use the money to develop a school-to-work program allowing students to work with members of the community on the demolition of decrepit homes to make way for the constructing of energy efficient, single family dwellings. This program will give students the opportunity to give back to their community while learning real-life skills that they can use post-graduation.
Beginning October 1, the finalists’ proposals will be available for public voting at www.ThankAmericasTeachers.com. Everyone can vote for any of the 15 teacher proposals, but a person can only vote once for the same teacher proposal per day. Up to six $100,000 educational grants will then be announced in December to the two proposals with the highest vote count per three geographical zones which include the Western Zone, Central Zone, and Eastern Zone.
In addition to voting, the public can visit www.ThankAmericasTeachers.com at any time to share their thanks for teachers who made a difference in their lives, and learn more about the program.
Launched at the 2015 Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, California, Thank America’s Teachers features an actual yellow school bus that is traveling coast-to-coast delivering opportunities to say thank you to teachers who give their time, talent and knowledge to ensure that our nation’s children become smarter and better prepared for the future.
Through Thank America’s Teachers, Farmers will give away more than $1,000,000 to educators in 2015 and the public will help determine who receives the grants at www.ThankAmericasTeachers.com. Farmers will award 180 grants valued at $2,500 throughout the year, in addition to the six $100,000 Dream Big Teacher Challenge grants.
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 over 19 million individual policies across all 50 states through the efforts of over 50,000 exclusive and independent agents and approximately 22,000 employees. Farmers Insurance Exchange, the largest of the three primary insurance entities that make up the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies®, is ranked No. 264 on the 2015 Fortune 500 list of largest companies.
For more information about Farmers, visit its Web site at www.farmers.com or at www.Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.
