For Immediate Release Feb 23, 2008

Contact: Nefertiti Austin (818) 207-4816

BROTHERHOOD CRUSADE RECEIVES $100,000 BOOST FROM STATE FARM® YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD

(Los Angeles) – On Thursday, February 21, 2008, The State Farm Youth Advisory Board announced that Brotherhood Crusade Youth Initiative Programs will receive a $100,000 service-learning grant to expand its existing educationally-enriched Mentoring Program in South Los Angeles.

“These funds will enable children from environments where gang influence is stronger than academic success to benefit from peer-mentoring,” said President and CEO Charisse Bremond Weaver. “We believe that positive peer pressure can be just as effective as the reverse.”

The Brotherhood Mentor Program is founded on the principles of service-learning, which is designed to impact and create meaningful change in the lives of youth, within and beyond the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Brotherhood Crusade is one of 68 organizations to receive a service-learning, youth-led grant across the United States and Canada. More than 300 grant requests were received by the Board.

The State Farm Youth Advisory Board, a diverse group of 30 youth, ages 17-20, was chosen through a competitive process to lead and oversee this $5 million/year signature service-learning initiative. The Youth Board identified the issues, issued competitive grants and will now provide technical assistance, communication and oversight to site grantees. The grants funded student-led service-learning projects in the United States and in the Alberta, New Brunswick and Ontario provinces of Canada.

“State Farm supports service-learning because it combines service to the community with classroom curriculum in a hands-on approach to mastering subject material while fostering civic responsibility,” said Samona Caldwell, PA Manager/CA Zone. “The State Farm Youth Advisory Board is a prime example of State Farm’s commitment to education, our community and our youth.”

State Farm will be presenting the check Friday, February 29th at 3 p.m. at Horace Mann Middle School, located at 7001 St. Andrews Place, Los Angeles. This site is home to the Brotherhood Crusade/Jim Cleamons Books and Basketball camp, as well as an after-school gang prevention and intervention program.

The Brotherhood Crusade is a 501©(3) nonprofit institution founded in 1968 to provide necessary resources, program services and a voice of advocacy to traditionally underserved communities. Our mission is to remove and/or help individuals overcome the barriers that deter their pursuit of success and facilitate opportunities for a better quality of life, by promoting health and wellness, enhancing educational opportunities, cultivating economic growth and building community agencies and institutions.

If you would like to make a contribution to the Brotherhood Crusade, please send your tax-deductible gift to:

Brotherhood Crusade
200 E. Slauson Avenue
Los Angeles, Ca 90011
www.brotherhoodcrusade.org