State Farm® Go To Bat(TM) Program Drives Home Support for Charities That Matter Most

BLOOMINGTON, Ill., July 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second straight year, State Farm and Major League Baseball (MLB) are giving fans from coast to coast the chance to deliver a big hit for their favorite charitable organization. Through the Go To Bat program, an online, charitable initiative driven by State Farm's commitment to helping communities get to a better state, fans can support the causes that mean the most to them and take their shot at winning one of the $18,000 weekly donations for their favorite charity and a trip for two to the 2011 World Series.

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Fans can visit www.statefarm.com/gotobat, select one of the designated charities on the website, then swing for the fences in the State Farm Go To Bat game to increase the batting average of their selected charity. Once a week, for 10 weeks, State Farm will make a donation of $18,000 to the charity with the highest Go To Bat game batting average. Also, an individual winner who goes to bat for the winning charity will be randomly selected and receive a trip for two to Games 3 and 4 of the 2011 World Series. A total of 10 winners will be drawn during the Go To Bat program, which stretches through the second half of the MLB season and concludes on September 26.

"State Farm has been, and continues to be, committed to helping our customers and their communities get to a better state," said Todd Fischer, manager of national sponsorships for State Farm. "The Go To Bat program is a natural extension of State Farm and our commitment, giving fans the opportunity to go to bat for a charity that matters most to them."

Fans can increase both their chances and their charity's chances of winning by returning to www.statefarm.com/gotobat and playing the online State Farm Go To Bat game on a daily basis. Players can earn additional entries and increase their chances to win by sharing their participation on Facebook.

As part of the program launch, State Farm and MLB will partner together in support of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and other selected charities to raise money for each home run hit in the 2011 State Farm Home Run Derby® tonight, July 11, at Chase Field. State Farm will pair up one member from eight Phoenix-area BGCA chapters with each Derby participant for the opportunity to win $50,000 for his or her individual club. State Farm will also award a $10,000 donation to each of the other seven participants' clubs. All of the State Farm Home Run Derby festivities will be broadcast live on ESPN at 8 p.m. EDT / 5 p.m. PDT.

The Go To Bat program will culminate during the 2011 MLB World Series with a pre-game ceremony showcasing its collective impact and recognizing the individual winners and their chosen charities.  Also, State Farm will announce and present a $25,000 donation to the charity that finishes the promotional campaign with the highest Go To Bat batting average.

Fans can get more information and enter the Go To Bat program online at www.statefarm.com/gotobat.

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. Our 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 78 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 37 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.

About Major League Baseball Properties

The Major League Baseball Clubs formed Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP) in 1966 as the Club's agent for marketing and trademark licensing and protection. Major League Baseball Properties is responsible for managing consumer licensing activities, developing national advertising campaigns, cultivating sponsorship opportunities with major consumer brands and corporations, growing the game and the business of baseball outside the United States and creating national marketing programs in conjunction with Clubs, broadcast rights holders and national sponsors. MLBP also operates a full-service video and audio production unit (Major League Baseball Productions), a publishing division and stock photo licensing agency, and manages logistics for the All-Star Game and World Series as well as all other special events. For more information on Major League Baseball, log on to www.MLB.com.

SOURCE State Farm

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