30 Teachers Across America Win $2,500 Grants To Use for Positive Change in the Classroom

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Farmers Insurance, one of the nation's largest multiline insurers, announced the third round of 30 winners of its "Thank A Million Teachers" program, a national initiative through which Farmers is inviting America to offer heartfelt thanks to teachers, present and past, for their positive impact on students and communities across the United States.  

Since the beginning of the year, more than 730,000 thank-yous have been received for teachers on the www.ThankAMillionTeachers.com website. As part of the national program, Farmers invited teachers to submit proposals for $2,500 grants. During the months of June and July, the public voted on hundreds of proposals with the top six vote-getters in five regions selected as winners. In all, Farmers has committed to donating $1 million to teachers and education programs in 2014.

"These teachers are amazing mentors and truly dedicated to their student's futures. They have such a unique approach and vision of how to captivate their students to promote new learning experiences.  Farmers is proud to be able to grant these teachers with the funds necessary to help advance education in communities throughout America," said Randy Rice, National Manager of Education Programs for Farmers Insurance.  "Over the course of this program it's been exciting to see communities rally around their local teachers as they vie to win grants for their classrooms."

Among the grant winners:

• Amber Davis, who teaches at Deep Creek Central Elementary in Chesapeake, Virginia, wants to provide her students with technology to help promote learning across a wide spectrum of studies. With her grant, she intends to acquire mini tablets to help her students master technology, as well as make learning fun by taking virtual tours of the pyramids of Egypt, studying the Great Wall of China, discover new habitats around the world and more.
• Kerri Kuehl, who teaches at Ekstrand Elementary in DeWitt, Iowa, will use her grant money to promote healthy eating options for her Kindergarteners. Her students have a snack every morning to keep their bodies and minds fueled for learning, but the school's funds for healthy snacks is extremely limited, in fact, Kuehl like most teachers, often purchases fresh vegetables and fruits with her own money. With the grant money, she plans to provide healthy snacks throughout the school year.
• Jessica Randolph teaches at Priest River Elementary in Priest River, Idaho, and will provide books for her students to excite them about reading. She noted her classroom library is limited and with a new reading program the school district recently implemented, students need access to a wider array of books to complement their different reading levels.
• Josephine Golcher, who teaches at Rosary High School, an all girl's school in Fullerton, California, wants to provide materials for her students to design, build and program robots. Golcher will use the grant money to form a robotics class for girls and drive interest for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education, also referred to as STEM.

Below is a complete list of winners (note to editors, details of the winning proposals and access to the winning teachers are available by contacting Farmers Media Relations representatives listed above):

Name of Teacher		School	City, State
Amber	Davis	Deep Creek Central Elementary	Chesapeake, Va.
Jennifer	Simpson	Forestview High School	Gastonia, N.C.
Jennifer	Van Gorden	Pasco Elementary School	Dade City, Fla.
Kayla	Brumbeloe	Evans Elementary School	Albertville, Ala.
DeAnna	West	Woodville High School	Woodville, Ala.
Abby	Waldorf	Poca Middle School	Poca, W. Va.
Amanda	Erspamer-Berry	Marquette Alternative High School	Marquette, Mich.
Kerri	Kuehl	Ekstrand Elementary	DeWitt, Iowa
Brent	Williamson	Danville Middle School	Danville, Ind.
Jennifer	Keigher	St. Anne Community High School	St. Anne, Ill.
Sarah	Gordon-Church	Quest Middle School	Peoria, Ill.
Stephanie	Stremp	Bonnie McBeth Learning Center	Plainfield, Ill.
Megan	Coryell	Central Elementary School	Roundup, Mont.
Mandy	Muri	Canyon Creek Elementary	Billings, Mont.
Paula	Brockman	Lowell Scott Middle School  </td>	Boise, Idaho
Jessica	Randolph	Priest River Elementary	Priest River, Idaho
Kiri	Bailey	McDowell Elementary	Petaluma, Colo.
Holly	Haskell	Free Orchards Elementary	Cornelius, Ore.
Ashley	Freeze	Van Buren R-1	Van Buren, Mo.
Stephanie	Dimmitt	Blackburn Elementary	Independence, Mo.
Megan	Farrell	Degan Elementary	Lewisville, Tex.
Greg	Park	Union Grove High School	Gladewater, Tex.
Leslie	Potter	Benton Academy	Bentonia, Miss.
Kim	Powell	Dale School	Dale, Okla.</p>
Justina	Foulke	Garvanza Elementary	Los Angeles, Calif.
Michael	Jones	Santa Lucia Elementary School	King City, Calif.
Margaret	Bangs	Rosary High School	Fullerton, Calif.
Josephine	Golcher	Rosary High School	Fullerton, Calif.
Mily	Mooc	Coolidge Elementary	San Gabriel, Calif.
Ritamarie	Theiler	McCollum Elementary School	Albuquerque, N. Mex.

Farmers Insurance is working in partnership with AdoptAClassroom.org, a national non-profit, to help teachers acquire the supplies and equipment they have requested in their proposals.

Farmers announced the launch of the Thank A Million Teachers program in late December at a special event featuring Jack Black, who thanked his former teacher Debbie Devine, who he credited with saving his life.  Several days later, Farmers brought additional attention to its campaign to thank educators across America with its Thank A Million Teachers New Year's Day float in the Tournament of Roses parade.

The ThankAMillionTeachers.com website is continuously accepting the public's thank yous and posts a live tally of the number of thank yous received thus far.  It is also the place where teachers can submit their proposals for the chance to win grants of $2,500.

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 more than 20 million individual policies across all 50 states through the efforts of over 50,000 exclusive and independent agents and approximately 22,000 employees.

For more information about Farmers, visit its Web site at www.farmers.com or at www.Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.

About AdoptAClassroom.org
AdoptAClassroom.org is a national 501(C) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to giving teachers a hand through the provision of essential classroom supplies so that students can succeed. Many teachers spend as much as $1,000 annually of their own money to equip their classrooms. Since 1998 AdoptAClassroom.org has raised over $20 million to benefit classrooms across America. AdoptAClassroom.org has earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. To adopt a classroom, visit http://www.adoptaclassroom.org.

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SOURCE Farmers Insurance