Take action in the community through State Farm Neighborhood Assist

Neighbors across the country will soon have an opportunity to help change their communities for the better through State Farm Neighborhood Assist - part of the State Farm Neighborhood of Good initiative which inspires and empowers people to turn caring into doing, State Farm Neighborhood Assist is back for its seventh year.

The program awards $25,000 grants to 40 nonprofit organizations to help fund neighborhood projects involved in education, safety and community development.

Individuals can submit a cause at www.neighborhoodassist.com from June 6-June15 or when 2,000 submissions are reached, whichever comes first. The State Farm Review Committee will then narrow down the field, using a scoring rubric to identify the top 200 submissions.

Ultimately, voters will decide which community improvement projects win big. The public will have a chance to vote 10 times a day, every day for 10 days from Aug. 15-24 for their favorite causes from the list of finalists. Voting will take place at www.neighborhoodassist.com.

The 40 causes that receive the most votes will each win a $25,000 grant and winners will be announced Tuesday, Sept. 25 at www.neighborhoodassist.com. “Neighborhood Assist is another example of how State Farm is successfully turning caring into doing in communities all across the U.S.," said Ed Woods, State Farm director of human resources. "From identifying an important cause to rallying your community to vote for it, this program is all about neighbors helping neighbors."

Last year, 119,000 people cast 3.1 million votes in support of their favorite causes, selecting winners from small towns and big cities. Since the program began, State Farm has awarded $6 million to more than 200 organizations.

For more information, go to www.statefarm.com.