State Farm invests in American Dream for Latino Families.

Building on the success of the 2008 Ya Es Hora (It’s Time) citizenship and voter engagement campaign, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund and State Farm have pledged to continue their efforts to empower Latinos to become full participants in American life through increased civic engagement and educational opportunities.

“We engaged with NALEO last year based on a simple premise: everyone counts and everyone has a dream,” said Mike Fernandez, vice president of public affairs at State Farm. “Due in part to the Ya Es Hora effort nearly a half million Latinos became U.S. citizens last year, nearly a million new Latinos registered to vote and more Latinos than ever actually voted.”

State Farm is announcing a $1 million grant to the NALEO Educational Fund for the second year in a row, made clear that the company’s investment was not merely a monetary investment, but a commitment by thousands of bilingual State Farm agent offices across the U.S. to provide citizenship and voter engagement information to the community, as well as participate in activities like citizenship workshops and voter participation drives.

“State Farm continues to be a good neighbor with its contribution to the Ya Es Hora program, as well as with its vast network of caring agents,” said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the NALEO Educational Fund.