NU Online News Service, Nov. 24, 1:06 p.m. EST

State Farm said it has awarded a $4 million grant to the Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) "Building Sustainable Communities" initiative.

The donation to the New York City-based national organization will benefit neighborhood stores, shops, parks and after-school programs, the insurer said. The initiative "is a long-term effort to help struggling communities become good places to live, work, do business and raise families," State Farm explained.

Barbara Cowden, executive vice president at State Farm, said her company is "proud to help build safer, stronger, better educated communities in partnership with LISC."

"Since 2000, we have worked together with LISC on the 'Building Sustainable Communities' initiative, which has positively impacted the lives of families who might not otherwise have had the support they need to help them find jobs and have better lives," she added.

State Farm said that since its national partnership with LISC began, it has awarded the organization more than $61 million in grants and loans that have been invested in neighborhood revitalization efforts nationwide.

"State Farm's continuing support for LISC and 'Building Sustainable Communities' speaks volumes about their dedication to helping disadvantaged communities become places of hope and opportunity," according to LISC President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Rubinger.

"Particularly in this economic environment, with job loss and foreclosures clouding the outlook for so many low-income families, State Farm's leadership is critically important," he said. "This new grant will fund programs and projects that give hard-hit communities the chance to recover and, over time, to prosper."

LISC's efforts are based on the notion that "eliminating blight and developing high-quality affordable housing anchors longer-term efforts," said Mr. Rubinger.

"But is that enough to make a community 'sustainable'? Not when the neighborhood schools are failing and there is no path to opportunity for children. Not when the neighborhood streets are dominated by graffiti, gangs and drugs instead of parks and recreation programs. Not when there aren't jobs or access to health care or even a neighborhood grocery store. 'Building Sustainable Communities' is about addressing all of those things as part of a community's overall quality of life," he concluded.

LISC combines corporate, government and philanthropic resources to help community-based organizations revitalize underserved neighborhoods. Since 1980, LISC has raised nearly $9 billion to build or rehabilitate more than 230,000 affordable homes and develop 32 million square feet of retail, community and educational space nationwide.

For more information about LISC, check their Web site at www.lisc.org, or contact Colleen Mulcahy at 312-697-2482, or e-mail her at cmulcahy@nefinc.org.

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State Farm Gives $4 Million To Aid Distressed Communities

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