Students across the nation have learned how to be environmentally conscious through the work of Earth Force, a nonprofit focused on educating teachers on how to build environmental community projects with their students.

“We target fifth to 10^th grade students because that’s the age people start to develop their personality, belief systems, value systems, and where environmental work needs to happen to build environmentally educated people,” says Justin Zakoren, Earth Force program manager for the Denver, Colo., area.

Earth Force works with teachers to give them a framework for their classroom work, which guides students to ask questions, identify issues and create solutions.

“Service learning is the best way to learn because you learn by doing,” says Earth Force President and CEO Vince Meldrum. “We’re encouraging students to do things in their community and they come away with a base knowledge of how to influence their community. They create a skillset inside and outside the classroom.”

“We’re creating environmental citizens, but also creating students who can independently research issues and understand the distinction between policy and practice,” Justin adds.

One class of sixth graders from Rooney Ranch Elementary School put the Earth Force curriculum to work. Students took an inventory of their school grounds and surrounding community and found the storm water outlet behind their school was littered with garbage and graffiti. The students focused their energy on how to clean up the area and keep it clean.

“They wrote to the city to help cover up the graffiti and secured a trash can for the litter. In that process, they spoke to the mayor, invited the city’s public works department to the storm water outlet and made an agreement that they’d let the city know when the trash can needed to be emptied,” Justin says.

The following school year, the students came back and noticed the trash can was being used, but the graffiti was back, so they created another task force and decided to cover up the graffiti with a mural that would be covered with a clear coat of special paint that is graffiti-resistant.

“I liked this because a lot of times you come into situations where you have the issue, but the solutions are simplistic, and here they’ve thought it through with a solution that will stop it,” Justin adds. “The students have also reached out to the fourth-graders to ensure the work is continued next year.”

“We work with educators who are under so much pressure to train them on our model and help them translate that to middle school kids,” Vince says. “I have teachers who tell me learning the Earth Force model has kept them in teaching. It makes education what teachers hope it will be – fun. We evaluate our programs and find teachers do more projects and we see kids as assets to the community.”

State Farm^® has supported Earth Force programs since 2008, allowing youth to complete tangible environmental programs and supporting teachers with education and project support.

“State Farm has been a big partner of ours. The grants we’ve received have allowed us to innovate and add another angle to the program and our State Farm partners have helped us identify community resources, volunteers and where we need to expand next,” Vince says. “There’s a credibility having an ongoing relationship with a company like State Farm.”

That was a real-life look for Shane into the drug problem facing America, in particular youths.

Now a country music recording artist and live performer, Shane has connected with thousands of high school students through his music behind the support of State Farm^® agents in Ohio and West Virginia.

Shane performed a couple dozen live shows at 30 high schools earlier this year. There is no charge to the students or school. Shane and his band set up in the gym or auditorium and play to hundreds of students. He always plays his song “Tattoos” and shares a message about staying clean.

“I had such an incredible experience after the first one,” Shane says. “I never would have thought my favorite show of the year would be playing to a couple thousand sober high school kids.”

Shane’s tour was part of the Drug Free Clubs of America, a voluntary program established in 2005, in which high school students with parental permission submit to voluntary drug testing.

State Farm agents donated resources to keep Shane, his band and operation going from town to town.

Leigh Greene, Wheelersburg, Ohio, was one who supported the tour. Leigh and Shane first met when he became a customer.

“We talked about his risk of being on the road, and he also shared his idea for the concert series at high schools,” says Leigh. “He asked about a sponsorship and said he was going to take his idea to other agents.

“I wanted to get involved because our family had a State Farm agent when I was growing up who had a great impact on my family. He meant a lot to many people because he was so grassroots. I am trying to create an office just like he did.”

Other participating agents were Dave Strickland, Chillicothe, Ohio; Dan McPherson, Parkersburg, W.Va.; Lorri Grisell, Wheeling, W.Va.; Zach Bradley, Canal Winchester, Ohio; Matt Coyne, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

“The agents gave me the confidence that we could do this and it would make a difference,” says Shane.

Twenty-five years later…their daughter graduated from Harvard.

Meet Allysunn Walker-Williams, an Ohio native who learned the value of family, civic engagement and community at an early age. “My parents and grandparents worked at local factories and taught me solid Midwestern values,” she explained. “Their lack of formal schooling was common in the south in the 1930's, 40’s, and 50’s, when racial oppression and segregation limited educational opportunities for African-Americans. My mother could have been a classical pianist. My father should have been a professor, but those doors were closed.”

A Path and a Purpose

As a child Allysunn excelled in school. Her parents encouraged her and her siblings every step of the way.

“I wanted all five of my children to go to college, and they did,” Allysunn’s father, Alton Walker Sr. stated proudly. “Allysunn went to the Hotchkiss School, Harvard and then UCLA – which meant she overcame barriers for all of us. We are so proud of her."

"I had extraordinary support from my parents, and was lucky enough to meet my best friend and mentor Ray, who also attended Hotchkiss and Harvard,” said Allysunn. “He gave me the confidence needed to pursue my dreams.” After completing her Harvard education, Allysunn pursued a career in public service and non-profit work in Los Angeles, California. “I had many choices and felt compelled to serve others. So I followed my heart.”

Her mission? To help create economic opportunity in marginalized communities, especially for poor families.

Through the years, Allysunn created opportunities for people to thrive – no matter their economic challenges. She held executive positions at the Weingart Center for the Homeless and the Los Angeles Mission. She became the Administrative Director of Community Health and Education at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and won Cedars’ first Annual President’s Award for Leadership.

At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Allysunn discovered a passion for improving the health conditions of low-income communities. She worked to promote fair health access for marginalized groups and earned her Masters with Honors from the UCLA School of Public Health.

Heartbreak and Hardships

While Allysunn experienced great successes, she faced a major setback in 2008. During the economic downturn she lost everything, which forced her to rebuild, to embrace resiliency and to keep pressing on.

“When I failed, my failures did not define me. They taught me,” Allysunn explained. “My faith kept me and restored me. My faith held my family together and put me back on my path to continue a life of servant-leadership.”

Today, Allysunn is the CEO of the California Council on Economic Education (CCEE), which provides K-12 students with the financial and economic literacy skills to help them make good choices with their money and with their lives. “Allysunn is passionate about education, and believes in CCEE’s mission. She has a wealth of experience and is a highly effective leader. One of her many skills includes successfully cultivating mentorship opportunities among educators,” said CCEE Board Chair, Steve Smith.

CCEE supporters include corporations like State Farm. CCEE and its partners invest in students by training teachers and supporting their work in the classroom. “Economic education unlocks economic potential,” said Allysunn. As she reflects on her life's journey, she shares three key tips to help others:

All great reminders as Allysunn reflects on the past, moves into the future and follows her heart.

Learn more about the CCEE.

Tori Taylor doesn’t live in a castle. She wasn’t saved by a prince. You won't find a shiny crown atop her head. Nevertheless, some might say she’s a modern day Cinderella. Because, when Tori needed help, an unexpected fairy godmother arrived with a life-changing plan.

Tori’s Story

Unlike many of her peers, Tori didn’t grow up in a loving home. She lacked clean clothes, proper hygiene, and access to nutritious food. “I was sent to school in dirty, poorly-fitting clothing and a packed lunch often containing nothing more than crackers and cheese,” she explained.

To top it off, she was denied opportunities to finish her homework, pursue extra-curricular activities or learn to drive. “My dad and stepmom told me they would kick me out of the house when I turned 18,” she said. “I felt so afraid and alone.”

However, Tori wasn’t alone. Someone was watching.

An Unconventional Fairy Godmother

Michelle Walther, is a site coordinator for Communities In Schools. The national, nonprofit organization gives at risk students the support needed to achieve - both in and out of the classroom.

As a site coordinator at Centerville High School, Michelle noticed something wasn’t right with Tori. One day, she invited her into her office and asked:

“How are you doing?”

A single question led to a series of answers. Michelle learned Tori’s basic needs were not being met. She took immediate action. This included giving Tori clean clothes, opportunities to shower at school, healthy meals, and supplies like notebooks and highlighters to stay organized in class.

“Tori was like many of the kids we work with – so burdened from shortcomings that they can’t concentrate on being a good student,” Michelle explained. “Giving a child someone they can count on to provide for their needs changes their world.”

Tori says the extra help was surprising. “I had never received attention like this!” By the time senior year began, Tori’s life had greatly improved. However, she still had a big concern. “I feared turning 18 because I would be kicked out of my house,” she explained.

Once again, Communities In Schools stepped in to help.

A New Chapter

Michelle connected Tori with Melissa Vance. She warmly took her in. “No child should be forced to the streets just because they reach a certain age,” said Melissa. “Our family was happy to open our home and welcome Tori to be part of it.”

“I had never felt as loved and cared for, as I did then,” said Tori. “I grew up being treated as a burden…never feeling loved and wanted. Becoming part of this family helped me feel like I fit in and was just a normal teenager with a great family.”

Preparing for the Ball (a.k.a. – Prom)

Spring arrived - and with it came the big dance. One day after school, Michelle took Tori shopping for a dress and shoes. The day of prom, she had her hair professionally done.

“In less than a year, I had had gone from dirty, hungry and scared – to happy, loved and on my way to senior prom,” Tori shares.

A Happy Ending

Today, Tori is in her junior year of college, and works in the finance industry. Reflecting on her experience with Communities In Schools, she says she’s overwhelmed with gratitude.

“I don’t know where I would be today without the help of this wonderful organization,” Tori says. “I do know I would not be a part of a loving family, be on my way to a college degree, and have a full-time position in the finance industry. My life now is something I could only have dreamed about before Communities In Schools reached out to help me realize my worth and become the person that I am today.”

With support from State Farm, Communities In Schools is working to build stronger communities and change children’s lives. Tori’s Triumph is just one example of the many children it helps each year.

Across the country, schools are teaching students, not just with a text book, but by getting their hands dirty. Literally. And, with the help of State Farm, they are helping their communities and the environment in the process.

Crellin Elementary teaches students how to keep the body and the planet healthy

Your chicken door needs to be closed each day at a certain time? What do you do? If you are a fifth grader at Crellin Elementary in Maryland, you build an automatic chicken door that runs on solar power.

From working in the greenhouse, cleaning the wool from a sheered sheep, to taking a walk to learn about the hemlocks, Crellin Elementary Students (K-5) are learning in unique ways.

The kids, along with their parents and teachers, learn about healthy, sustainable lifestyles and how to protect the environment. They feed the animals, plant vegetables and compost leftovers from school lunches. And the students don’t mind doing their chores…at school.At the school, they also have a lab the students use to study and collect data.

After spending time in the barn, first graders were curious about which roosting box the hens preferred when laying eggs. For two months, regardless of the weather, these little scientists went to the barn to collect data. Using the results, the second graders prepare the “Sunshine Farm” eggs to sell.

“Using the environment to teach content skills and processes is part of the approach to teaching and learning,” said Principal Dana McCauley. ”(They) strive to be self-sustaining at Crellin by tying agriculture into the curriculum.”

Virginia Chance School “Green Team” creates organic garden and compost system

The Virginia Chance School in Louisville, Kentucky has an eight-member “Green Team”. The chosen fourth and fifth graders annually lead the environmental and energy conservation charge at the independent school for children age two through fifth grade.

The Green Team’s first big undertaking in 2012 was overseeing the building of a 60-foot greenhouse to create an organic garden and compost system.

“The building of the greenhouse really changed our school and our learning environment for the better,” says Ms. Cummins, the lead teacher.

Subsequent Green Teams have introduced an Aquaponics system into the greenhouse, planted a rain garden, and built rain barrels. Next on the horizon is building a chicken coop.

The produce the students grow is used as fresh snacks for the student body, student-run farmers market, cooking classes, monthly taco dinners. Leftovers are donated to a local food bank.

In May of 2015, the National Energy Education Development Project named the Chance School the top elementary school in the country. “I think what made their project stand out is the ability to tie in growing their own food and conserving water into energy conservation,” said Ms. Cummins.

The school was honored by a visit from First Lady Jane Beshear of Kentucky in recognition of all of the great things the Green Team is accomplishing.

Tucker County High School grows 50,000 bedding plants

High school students can get into the action too. At Tucker County HS in Hambleton, West Virginia, students are learning valuable life skills.

Through the Farm to School program, the students sell their produce directly to the high school or other schools. The school’s cafeteria is now serving meals with produce grown in the greenhouse.

The culinary program, part of the career & technical education program, has also expanded with the addition of fresh produce from the greenhouse. Students learn how to can and preserve fresh produce for school meals.

Last year, 50,000 bedding plants were grown in the high school green house and sold to the community and surrounding counties.

With these programs in place, TCHS can make money from the greenhouse facilities and culinary programs to, ultimately, help support the students

“There was a gentleman from a school district in Texas, and he said that they looked at the number of students that were not reading at grade level at fourth grade to determine the number of prison beds they would need ten years down the road,” said Debbie Clark, a retired teacher from Hinton Area Elementary School in Hinton, West Virginia. “The next day I looked into [how many of our students were reading below grade level,] and when I found out ours was above 57 percent, I thought, we have to do something.”

Soon thereafter, Clark and Pat Mick, a fellow retired teacher, decided to tackle this problem by addressing student’s nutritional needs, noting the link between nutrition and school achievement. “If you’re hungry, you can’t focus, you can’t do your schoolwork, you’re always thinking about your stomach growling,” observed Karen Bollinger, a reading specialist with the school.

“In the first three years of a student’s school[ing], they learn to read; after that it’s read to learn,” said Mick. The conclusion: these critical years help dictate future success.

Yummy Bags: Food for Thought

So this year, the two of them started Yummy Bags. Yummy Bags’ mission is to address both issues – education and nutrition. The organization provides nutritious meals to third and fourth graders with low reading proficiency at Hinton Area Elementary, in a community with a very high unemployment rate.

Select students get to take home meals for the weekend when they’re not in school and getting the food provided there. In addition, books are also distributed with the hope students will continue to read, or someone reads to them, until they’re back at school on Monday.

Launching in March 2014, Yummy Bags started their service to 15 students. By June, that number was up to 45 and now they are serving, on average, more than 60 students each week.

“Someone cares about them.”

The community has rallied to the cause as well. This past May, their votes of support helped Yummy Bags earn a State Farm Neighborhood Assist® grant of $25,000. To continue to build the education piece in tandem with the nutrition piece, this additional funding will help Yummy Bags launch an after-school tutoring program in 2015. Here, trained adult leaders will work with students on their reading proficiency.

Thanks to this program, teachers are already seeing improvements. “Attendance has improved, because they know every Friday they’re going to get it and they need to be here – and [they know] someone cares about them,” says Bollinger.

With programs like Yummy Bags, kids can focus on school work and not when they’ll be able to eat their next meal. As Bollinger puts it, “When we put the bag in their backpack, you see their face light up and a bright smile and you know that you’ve done something good for that child.”

With Who Let the Dogs Out blaring in the gymnasium and the friendly Neigh Bear dancing to the music, State Farm Fire Claim Representative Carolyn Pitre and her band of puppeteers take the stage at LaSalle Elementary in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in hopes of preventing dog bite injuries with children.

For nearly 15 years, this dog bite program has taught thousands of children dog safety. It all started with an old refrigerator box and the handy State Farm educational booklet “Fido – Friend or Foe?” Over the years, with the help of Carolyn’s dad, the puppets have earned a real stage and continue to develop their program. As a former school teacher, Carolyn feels right at home in front of 200 pre-K to first graders and loves carrying on this message year after year.

“It’s all about education and prevention. I’ve worked some really bad dog bite claims over the years, and we want to do our part to educate little ones on safety with dogs,” states Carolyn.

Careful Clara (Karen Hope), Safety Sam (Troy Alfred) and Watchful Willy (Barry Hunter) teach the kids all types of dog etiquette and safety. The kids learn how to let the dog smell their fist first like a “hand shake,” and how to roll up into a ball in case a dog does attack. With help from Cassandra Whitty and Marvin Snyder, the practice session helps to ensure that all the kids are prepared to interact safely with dogs. Karen, Troy, Barry, Cassandra and Marvin all know the facts about dog safety and share the knowledge they’ve learned on the job at State Farm.

Whether a dog is a family friend or a stray on the street, the kids of LaSalle Elementary leave the State Farm puppet show each year with knowledge that could save their life.