Project Ignition

Car crashes are the number one killer of teens across North America. Project Ignition is a local initiative that calls upon our youth to create campaigns that address this issue.

Project Ignition aims to decrease injury and death of teens involved in car crashes. Through service-learning, Project Ignition empowers our youth to take ownership and leadership in combating this issue. Service-learning is a teaching method that enriches learning by engaging students in meaningful service to their schools and communities. It carefully blends hands-on service with established learning objectives.

The grant program challenges young minds on creating a communication and marketing strategy to promote safe driving habits amongst their peers and community. Through a competitive process, 25 schools across the United States and Canada each receive a $2,000 grant to implement their communication campaigns. Up to 10 are then awarded another $5,000 grant to attend the State Farm® Companies Foundation-sponsored National Service-Learning Conference convened by NYLC. One school is selected as the winner and receives a $10,000 grant to continue its safety program.

Project Ignition has been in the United States for over six years with the partnership between State Farm® and the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC). Recently, with the help of SMARTRISK and the SMARTRISK No Regrets initiative, State Farm® has been able to bring Project Ignition to Canada. In 2009, five schools in Ontario were successful in obtaining the $2,000 grant to bring their campaigns for safe driving to life. One of the five schools, Northern Secondary School, was awarded to attend the 2010 National Service-Learning Conference in San Jose, California.