Farmers Life celebrates ‘Giving Tuesday’

Island-based insurance company donates $30,000 to United Way of King County.

Farmers New World Life Insurance Company (Farmers Life) will present a check for $30,000 today to United Way of King County in support of #GivingTuesday, an international effort to celebrate generosity and encourage giving.

This United Way chapter serves 3.6 million individuals in the Greater Seattle area, helping to alleviate homelessness and hunger, and assist at-risk youth.

“We are proud to support United Way of King County, which in turn supports #GivingTuesday, so many people in need in the Greater Seattle area,” John Henle, head of distribution at Farmers Life, said in a statement. “As a company with its roots in Seattle, our employees come from all over the Puget Sound area to work at our Mercer Island office. We are grateful to be able to give back to an organization that gives us so much.”

In addition to an annual corporate contribution, Farmers Life employees give more than $35,000 each year in United Way payroll deductions, and participate in the annual Day of Caring, according to a press release.

This year, Farmers Life employees helped out at Teen Feed, a program providing meals and services to the city’s at-risk youth; the Pregnancy and Parenting Support Center, which supports women, children and families with counseling and education services; and collected cash and boxes of toiletries for the United Way’s Community Resource Exchange.

“We are working to build a community where people have homes, students graduate and families are financially stable,” said Jon Fine, president and CEO of United Way of King County. “It is thanks to dynamic partners like Farmers Life and their team of passionate and caring employees that we are able to achieve significant results in our community.”

United Way is only one of dozens of local organizations that benefit from more than $225,000 in Farmers Life corporate and employee contributions and 1,000 volunteer hours each year.

Following Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving.

“Today is a chance to switch gears, to reflect on our abundance and renew our commitment to share our time, resources and talents to help address local challenges,” Henle said. “We hope this gesture encourages other businesses and individuals to reach out today and throughout the year ahead.”

Farmers New World Life Insurance Company employs more than 500 people in its home office on Mercer Island.The company moved to the Island in 1958 and settled in its current location on 77th Avenue in 1982.