#respectontheroads

View fullsize

We’re on a campaign here at the Humanity Project. “Equality For Each, Respect For All!” And we strongly believe that in our distracted high-speed world those important values must include something we call “respect on the roads.” This means showing respect for the lives of other motorists, our passengers and ourselves whenever behind the wheel of an automobile. Because, truly, when is respect among human beings more immediately urgent than when we’re traveling on highways at 70 mph?

We’ve just created a cool new video about #respectontheroads — young kids asking all adults to drive more safely. Research shows children can influence the driving behavior of parents and other grownups if kids learn when and how to speak up. We believe this video speaks loudly to adults who drive. And we’ve just added it to our State-Farm sponsored website for parents of teen drivers, www.thp4parents.com. Check out the video on the homepage by scrolling down a bit … and then maybe also take the online safe driving course while you’re there. It’s quick and it’s fun. As always, a huge thank you to our friends and longtime major sponsor, State Farm … We can’t do it without you!

Good Neighbors, Great Partners

The “Good Neighbor” Company

The Humanity Project again offers our immense gratitude to State Farm!

We have received another major grant from this wonderful community-minded company… our consistent partner since 2008. The Humanity Project’s acclaimed I Care program teaches young children the value of respect for all people, including #respectontheroads. This means recognizing the value of our own lives and the lives of others by driving with care and attention — something too many distracted drivers often fail to do. Children can help parents to understand this idea, research shows. In our nonprofit’s focus on “Equality For Each, Respect For All,” we feel it’s important to include teachings that extend to highway safety because so many lives are lost through traffic crashes, especially among teen drivers. Teens die from highway crashes more than from any other cause. Respect for each other in this society must involve every aspect of daily life — and this means driving too.

As ever, a huge thank you to Jose Soto and our other great neighbors at State Farm. We can’t carry out all our work without your vital help each year. Be sure to check out our special website devoted to parents of teen drivers: www.thp4parents.com … It’s fun, fresh and informative. It was also created with a generous grant from State Farm. As the company itself explains their work: “State Farm's mission is to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams. State Farm and its affiliates are the largest providers of auto and home insurance in the United States. Its 19,200 agents and 59,000 employees serve approximately 84 million policies and accounts – over 81 million auto, fire, life, health and commercial policies and over 2 million bank and investment planning services accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 36 on the 2020 Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more, please visit www.statefarm.com …”

Good Neighbors, Through Thick and Thin

View fullsize

What can you say about someone who is always there for you, in good times and bad? Even more unusual, what can you say about a major corporation that never falters in their support, no matter how challenging the circumstances?

At the Humanity Project, we have two words for such a corporation: State Farm.

This genuinely public-spirited company has been a consistent sponsor of the Humanity Project since 2008, when they backed our new antibullying programs. Now those programs are firmly established and highly acclaimed — an achievement that might never have happened without State Farm. In more recent years State Farm has helped us create and expand our innovative I Care program, teaching teens and adults to drive attentively and with respect for the lives of everyone on the roads.

Well before the current COVID-19 crisis, State Farm approved the Humanity Project’s grant application for $15,000 to take I Care to the next level. But here is what you need to know about our good neighbors: Once the economic freefall began along with an unprecedented social lockdown, State Farm honored their commitment. Those funds are already in the Humanity Project account. To us, that money says everything. It says this is a quality company guided by the finest ethical principles.

We must specifically give our deep gratitude to Jose Soto, State Farm’s Corporate Responsibility Analyst for Florida and Georgia. Jose is widely regarded as a great asset to our communities. State Farm is lucky to have Jose — and the Humanity Project is fortunate to work with this wonderful man.

So yes, State Farm does more than call itself the good neighbor company. In good times, in bad times, through thick and thin, they prove over and over what being a good neighbor really means. And in the midst of a historic worldwide crisis, what could be more important? Thank you, once again, State Farm!

First Workshop Was A Hit

Our first I Care Live workshop attracted a full crowd of engaged parents on April 19 -- and the program was a hit. These intimate sessions have a simple message, delivered with humor and interactive exercises. That message: Parents must practice what they preach to their teenagers about safe driving.

Research clearly shows that parents are the key in reaching teen drivers. If the parents are distracted and careless drivers, their kids are more likely to behave the same way behind the wheel. If the parents are focused and careful, though, their teenage motorists stand a much better chance of driving safely too. The I Care Live workshops are free, sponsored by State Farm.

We were joined by State Farm agent, Jane Freilich, and her colleague, adding their experience to the comments and questions. The half-hour workshops feature all original videos, interactive games and demos along with information intended to inspire good driving, not to frighten parents. They're fun, funny and memorable evenings for mothers and fathers who care about the safety of their motoring children. To schedule your workshop, contact the Humanity Project at 954-205-2722. We look forward to hearing from you.

I Care Live Workshops ... Free!

After nearly a year of planning and preparation, of development and creation, our I Care Live workshops are about to begin. These free workshops are sponsored by our very good neighbors at State Farm. They're the live version of our I Care driver safety program, which we began in 2012 for teens only ... then expanded to become a program for parents too. Research shows parents are the main influence on the driving habits of their teenage motorists: If the parents are distracted poor drivers, their kids are more likely to drive the same way.

So our live workshops are for the parents only. We will work with small groups of parents in intimate settings to show them why they need to practice what they preach. Like all the other elements of I Care, we avoid scare tactics. These 25-minute workshops are fun, funny and memorable. And we believe parents will leave with a fresh understanding about their responsibilities as parents of teen drivers. To schedule your I Care Live workshop, just go to our Contact page and get in touch. The sessions are free. If you're not in South Florida, let us know that you're interested anyway -- we'll work with you to get your parent group the materials you need to make a difference.

Join Our Leadership Council

POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS

I want to extend an invitation to you today through this blog. You won’t need money to accept it. You won’t need to make any sacrifices in your life. You only must commit to helping us help kids (and parents) with whatever time you can spare. Consider joining our new Humanity Project Leadership Council.

Okay, so here’s that invitation I mentioned: Consider joining our new Humanity Project Leadership Council. To do this, you must live where we’re headquartered – in South Florida, ideally in Broward County. And you must be a parent or grandparent, again ideally with your child or grandchild eager to join our work too.

We’re creating this Leadership Council to serve as our in-house panel of expert consultants. Experts in parenting, that is. We want the views and ideas of these smart parents and their kids to help guide our work. And yes, we welcome grandparents as well because so many grandparents are raising children and of course have even longer experience in child-rearing.

The Leadership Council first will tackle our I Care teen driver safety program’s latest expansion, funded by a generous grant from our great partners at State Farm. By joining our team, you will help us to create parent-friendly and grandparent-friendly content for a funny PowerPoint presentation on distracted driving, something we’ll give to parent groups around South Florida. We’re hoping to continue the council after this work is done, with our panel moving on to improve other Humanity Project programs and provide ongoing advice.

The Humanity Project Leadership Council will be made of as many as 16 adults and kids. We want creative folks who would love the chance to contribute to the community in clever, inventive ways. If you’re interested, just drop us an email or call by going through our Contact page.  We’ll tell you more about the kind of thing we have in mind. It’s simply one more way of fulfilling our mission of “helping kids to help kids” … and we could use your assistance.