FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Graham Green, Director of Marketing
Smart Home America
(o) 855-742-7233 x2, graham@smarthomeamerica.org
Mobile, AL, 03/30/2021 - Smart Home America is pleased to announce Farmers Insurance® has increased its funding with a $50,000 grant in 2021 to help the nonprofit organization further its mission to build stronger, more resilient communities. Following a historic year for disasters, Smart Home America’s work to build and rebuild homes and businesses to be disaster-resilient is an urgent focus across the U.S.
Due to the increased urgency to strengthen communities, Farmers Insurance® has renewed and built on its seven-year relationship with Smart Home America. Farmers’ enhanced support will fund additional education and outreach about disaster-resilient construction and its benefits.
“Farmers Insurance has underwritten our education and outreach work for many years,” said Julie Shiyou-Woodard, President and CEO of Smart Home America. “I’m excited we’ve elevated our collaboration to support disaster-resilience education and training. We will now be able to reach even more home and business owners and share how they can better protect their homes and property.”
This year’s grant will assist Smart Home America by supporting continuing education courses and organizing dynamic training and volunteer opportunities on FORTIFIED homes. FORTIFIED is a nationally recognized disaster-resilient construction standard that has helped increase the performance and durability of over 23,000 homes and businesses. These courses teach how mitigation and preparedness help create resiliency and apply to homeowners, home builders, roofers, and realtors.
"At Farmers, we are proud to work with organizations like Smart Home America that help promote preparedness and build stronger communities,” said Deb Aldredge, Chief Administrative Officer for Farmers Insurance. "We hope our continued support of Smart Home America, including our latest grant, helps create greater understanding among communities and individuals about how they can better prepare for the unexpected."
Farmers Insurance is a longtime member of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) and currently sits on the IBHS Board of Directors. Funding from Farmers Insurance and other member companies has allowed IBHS to conduct its critical research, including creating the FORTIFIED Home™ and FORTIFIED Commercial™ construction standards.
“The ultimate preparedness is property mitigation,” explained Shiyou-Woodard, “If we can reduce the risk of loss before the storm hits, everyone benefits. Engaged organizations like Farmers Insurance allow us to host training opportunities and share the benefits and solutions available for being disaster-resilient.”
About Farmers Insurance
"Farmers Insurance®" and "Farmers®" are tradenames for a group of insurers providing insurance for automobiles, homes and small businesses and a wide range of other insurance and financial services products. Farmers Insurance Exchange®, the largest of the three primary insurers that make up Farmers Insurance, is recognized as one of the largest U.S. companies on the 2020 Fortune 500 list. For more information about Farmers Insurance, visit Farmers.com, Twitter.com/WeAreFarmers, Instagram.com/ThisIsFarmers or Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.
About Smart Home America
Since 2009, Smart Home America has been an advocate for the use of modern building codes, resilient construction, and policies that reduce losses from natural disasters. Smart Home America creates and leverages mitigation solutions to increase community resilience through education initiatives and the convening of experts from the public and private sectors.
Smart Home America is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization based in Mobile, Alabama.
Learn more at smarthomeamerica.org
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