SACRAMENTO, Calif.,
June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
California youth in communities
from Crescent City to San Diego will dream, develop and deliver
their own safe driving campaigns during the upcoming school year –
energized by a $230,000 grant from
The Allstate Foundation. California Secretary of Business,
Transportation and Housing Traci
Stevens joined California
Highway Patrol Deputy Commissioner Ramona
Prieto and leaders from the California Friday Night Live
Partnership and Allstate to unveil the grant Tuesday in
West Sacramento.
"Allstate recognizes the effectiveness of peer-to-peer
communication—teens listening to other teens. It's a big part of
how Friday Night Live helps save lives," said Julie Domenick, an Allstate agency owner in
Roseville. "This program
powerfully supports Allstate's national initiative to put teens in
front of other teens to promote safe driving behaviors."
According to Allstate, nearly 3,500 American teens die annually
in accidents caused by distracted driving. More than 300,000 teens
are injured. Domenick says this grant will help reduce those
crashes.
This is the second year for the partnership between California
Friday Night Live and The Allstate Foundation. This new grant
rewards and builds upon the extraordinary efforts made this past
school year by more than 800 California youth who hosted safe
driving events across the state with local chapters of Friday Night
Live. Allstate supported local Friday Night Live chapters during
the past school year with more than $100,000 that allowed youth leaders to devise new
methods to encourage friends, classmates and peers to drive
safely.
In the upcoming school year, Friday Night Live youth across
California will drive new life
saving peer-to-peer programs and campaigns utilizing tools,
knowledge and inspiration they receive at a state-wide teen safe
driving summit supported by The Allstate Foundation's new grant.
This summit is the largest gathering of California teens focused on the issue of safe
driving.
"Building partnerships like this encourages positive and healthy
development for our young people and engages them to become active
leaders," says Jim Kooler,
California Friday Night Live Partnership Director. "This support
from The Allstate Foundation will allow hundreds of California's young people to convene at our
Traffic Safety Summit and lead their peers in reducing distracted
driving collisions."
The Teens
Programs created so far by California Friday Night Live
Partnership teens include:
- X The TXT pledge drives to eliminate cell phone use while
driving.
- Measuring distracted driving on busy streets near high schools,
and reducing it.
- Roadside safe driving rallies and other cooperative efforts
with California Highway Patrol and
traffic safety officials to deliver safe driving messages
throughout local communities.
- High school and senior class events to increase awareness for
eliminating distractions while driving.
- New social media Internet sites for local teens to share
distracted driving stories and advice with other teens statewide
and across the country.
The 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.
The Partnership
The California Friday Night Live Partnership has chapters in 54
California counties. Last year
Friday Night Live youth leaders introduced more than 50 driving
safety events to 13 counties statewide.
SOURCE The Allstate Foundation