Communities In Schools, the leading organization dedicated to empowering students to stay in school and achieve in life, is proud to announce that its new Michigan state office is the recipient of two donations totaling $37,500 from State Farm.

“We believe that all children deserve an education that helps them reach their potential and prepares them for life,” said Milt Bossch, Vice President Agency of State Farm Michigan®. “Assuring that our students graduate from high school with the skills necessary to compete in a global economy is something all businesses, small and large, should see as a priority.”

The donations have been allocated for affiliate support and development within the new Michigan state office. The funds will give the state office the resources to provide training and technical assistance for the existing Communities In Schools local affiliates in Michigan, as well as to begin the development work for new Communities In Schools local affiliates throughout the state.

“These grants will allow us to broaden our reach into new areas where children need us most,” said Communities In Schools President Daniel Cardinali. “Through this funding, our Michigan state office has been given a greater opportunity to help reduce the nation’s dropout numbers, and ultimately empower more students to stay in school and achieve in life.”

The Communities In Schools of Michigan state office is currently in the process of hiring a state director and will soon begin implementing affiliate support and development.

Communities In Schools surrounds students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. Through a school-based site coordinator, Communities In Schools connect students and their families to critical community resources, tailored to local needs. Working in nearly 3,000 schools, in the most challenged communities in 25 states and the District of Columbia, Communities In Schools serves more than 1.3 million young people and their families every year. It has been shown through an independent evaluation to be the nation’s only dropout prevention organization proven to both increase graduation rates and reduce dropout rates. Visit our website at www.communitiesinschools.org

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.