NU Online News Service, June 28, 2:10 p.m. EDT

Ten cities will receive financial aid to continue 4^th of July festivities courtesy of Liberty Mutual Group as the Boston-based insurer announced the winners of its "Bring Back The 4^th" contest.

The online challenge, which ran from May 13 to June 14, allowed U.S. cities and towns to compete for ten $10,000 grants to help save their official Fourth of July celebrations from being cancelled or curtailed due to stretched budgets.

Liberty Mutual said more than 48,000 Americans from more than 3,000 U.S. cities and towns visited www.BringBackThe4th.com to earn credits for their hometown traditions, with many using Facebook, Twitter, e-mail and blogs to rally their neighbors to participate on behalf of their communities.

Entrants were asked to take a brief U.S. history quiz at the website featuring questions about people and events that helped shape our nation. Each completed quiz counted as one credit toward a website visitor's town, and the 10 U.S. municipalities with the most completed quizzes would win grants.

Bring Back the 4th grants are awarded to cities and towns in three size-based categories: small (four grants), medium (three grants) and large (three grants).

The winners were:

Small city/town category:

o Steamboat Springs, Colo.

o Springfield, Ga.

o Belmond, Iowa

o Winslow, Maine.

Medium city/town category:

o Wilmington, Mass.

o Montclair, N.J.

o Bowling Green, Ohio.

Large city/town category:

o Springfield, Ill.

o Cincinnati, Ohio

o Vancouver, Wash.

"We created 'Bring Back the 4^th' based on the idea that, when faced with a challenge impacting an entire community, Americans will rally together to make things right," Paul Alexander, senior vice president, communications, for Liberty Mutual, said in a statement. "And sure enough, tens of thousands of Americans went online and earned a chance for their hometowns to bring back their beloved Fourth of July traditions. We at Liberty Mutual are honored to support this groundswell of community spirit and wish everyone a happy and safe Independence Day."

Special Reports /

10 Cities Receive 4th Of July Reprieve

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