The Travelers Companies Inc. has donated $1.25 million to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation Inc. in Washington, D.C., it was announced.

The St. Paul, Minn.-based company said the gift will help build the four-acre memorial on the National Mall and provide support for Kids for King, an educational outreach program to schools throughout the country that will culminate with the dedication of the memorial in 2010.

"I am pleased to welcome Travelers to the list of supporters to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial," Harry E. Johnson Sr., president and chief executive officer of the Memorial Foundation, said in a statement.

"Now is the time to make history; now is the time for other corporations and all Americans to follow in the footsteps of Travelers, to play a role in building a lasting memorial to Dr. King and the ideals of hope, democracy, love and peace for which he stood," Mr. Johnson said.

"Travelers is proud to support the creation of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial," said Jay Fishman, Travelers chairman and chief executive officer.

In addition to Travelers, a list of 40 major donors to the foundation includes insurers State Farm Insurance, AFLAC, CIGNA, MetLife Foundation and Prudential Financial Inc.

The memorial honoring Dr. King will be built on the National Mall, situated adjacent to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and in a direct line between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Congress passed Joint Resolutions in 1996 authorizing establishment of the memorial. It is expected to be completed in 2010.

Information about the memorial is online at www.buildthedream.org.

Special Reports /

Travelers Donates $1.25M To King Foundation

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