During Veterans Day Week, State Farm(R) to Help America Say Thank You to Members of the Military and Their Families

November 4, 2009

Donation up to $50,000 for Fisher House Foundation via ThanksForBeingThere.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ill., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- A simple "thank you" can be a powerful thing. A new Web site launching today, ThanksForBeingThere.com, lets people express their thanks to others using social media. They can create and post personal "thank you" messages accompanied by a photo or short video. During the week of Veterans Day (Nov. 8-14), as a way of helping the country say "thanks for being there" to our nation's service men and women, State Farm will donate $1 to the Fisher House Foundation for every thank you sent.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091104/MN04302)

Fisher House is a military support organization that is there for military families whose loved ones are undergoing treatment at military or Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers throughout the country and overseas in Germany. They will receive a donation of up to $50,000.

"My family was fortunate enough to take advantage of Fisher House's services when I was injured during my service in Operation Iraqi Freedom and recovering at a military medical facility," said Troy O'Donley, State Farm employee and president-elect of State Farm's employee Military Affinity Group (MAG). "State Farm has a long-standing commitment to supporting members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and I'm excited to see my company help America say 'thank you' to them. This important job is stressful to individuals and families, and this type of appreciation means so much to so many."

ThanksForBeingThere.com encourages Americans to express gratitude to those who have made an impact in their lives. Anyone can send a thank you in three easy steps by visiting www.ThanksForBeingThere.com. In addition to appearing on the site, people can share their messages via email and on their personal social media pages. The number of thank you messages is tallied on the homepage and site content is searchable allowing visitors to experience the power of people coming together in one place to reach out and thank others.

The goal of Fisher House Foundation is to ensure families of wounded service men and women have a "home away from home" on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers, enabling family members to be close when their loved one is hospitalized for an unexpected illness, disease or injury. There are 43 Fisher Houses located on 18 military installations and 13 VA medical centers in the United States, and all homes are operated and maintained by the Army, Navy, Air Force or Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2008 alone, these comfort homes saved military families more than $12 million in lodging expenses.

"Fisher House is delighted to be the beneficiary of the ThanksForBeingThere.com campaign," said Jim Weiskopf, Fisher House Foundation Vice President. "State Farm's initiative honors America's heroes - its service men and women - while raising money enabling us to build more Fisher Houses to assist military families and increase awareness for our programs."

About State Farm®:

State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,700 agents and 68,600 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts - more than 78.7 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 31 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. State Farm's commitment to the military extends more than 65 years with a world-class military leave policy and through its support of programs like the employee Military Affinity Group, Adopt-a-Soldier, and the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.

About Fisher House Foundation

Fisher House Foundation is best known for the network of 43 comfort homes on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. The houses are 5,000 to 16,800 square foot homes, with up to 21 suites, donated to the military and Department of Veterans Affairs by Fisher House Foundation. The Foundation provides support to families of patients receiving care at the nearby medical center and has ensured that families of service men and women wounded or injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom do not pay for their stay at a Fisher House or other base facility if they are on a wait list. For more information on the work of Fisher House Foundation, go to www.fisherhouse.org, or call toll-free (888) 294-8560.

SOURCE State Farm