State Farm Insurance Company donated $128,600 to MU on June 28 as part of the Mizzou: Our Time to Lead fundraising campaign. The donated money will go toward various MU departments and programs, including MU Extension, the Trulaske College of Business and the College of Human Environmental Sciences.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the generosity of State Farm and Mizzou’s long-standing partnership with the company,” Vice Chancellor for Advancement Tom Hiles said in a news release announcing the donation. “State Farm’s continued support in important MU community outreach programs shows their dedication and investment in bettering the community and state, and we thank them for their vision.”

Of the donation, $48,600 will fund the Fire Rescue Training Initiative, which is housed under MU Extension. With State Farm’s donation, 750 firefighters and emergency responders throughout the state will be trained on removing accident victims and transporting them quickly to treatment centers.

Additionally, $25,000 will go toward MU Health Care’s Trauma Center for Motor Vehicle Crash Outreach program, which aims to reduce crashes among older drivers. The program allows drivers “to stay on the roads as long as safely possible” while also opening discussions about driver retirement, according to the news release.

Past State Farm gifts allowed the Trulaske College of Business to start a risk management and insurance program in 2015. Because of State Farm’s support, the news release stated, the College of Business hired a program director, and new classes directed toward students interested in risk management were able to be offered. The new gift of $25,000 will continue to support the program.

The College of Human Environmental Sciences received two gifts from State Farm, a $20,000 donation for financial literacy counseling for students across the state of Missouri and $10,000 toward the Family Impact Center. The center allows families to participate in financial, behavioral and other counseling and trainings to help families “identify and build on their strengths, face challenges and make informed choices,” according to the news release.

To date, State Farm has donated a total of $1.8 million to MU, with $520,600 of that to the Mizzou: Our Time to Lead campaign. The campaign, which began in October 2015, has raised a total of $762 million, with a goal of $1.3 billion. By focusing on endowment, signature research centers and new and renovated facilities, the news release stated, the fundraising campaign will “secure the University of Missouri’s status among the nation’s elite public universities.”

_Edited by Nancy Coleman | ncoleman@themaneater.com_