Allstate to Once Again Encourage Volunteerism on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Allstate is encouraging citizens interested in participating in Give Back Day on January 18, 2010 to visit BeyondFebruary.com to find volunteer opportunities in their communities.  This interactive Web site links to VolunteerMatch, an online search engine that promotes volunteerism and civic engagement by matching volunteers with charitable organizations and non-profits.  VolunteerMatch contains thousands of volunteer opportunities in communities all across the country.  Additionally, visitors to the Web site can view profiles of the four Give Back Day Heroes and learn about their community involvement through a series of video interviews and blog posts.

Allstate is continuing to collaborate with the King Center in Atlanta to celebrate its second annual Allstate Give Back Day initiative by hosting a volunteer rally after the annual commemorative service honoring Dr. King at Ebenezer Baptist Church on the morning of January 18, 2010.  To reinforce the company's commitment to giving back, Allstate also is mobilizing Give Back Day events in markets across the country, to reinforce the dedication that Dr. King had to giving back to the community with a wide range of projects.

“Allstate has truly stepped up by creating Give Back Day, an outstanding volunteer initiative that embodies the spirit of my father and everything he fought for,” said Bernice King, Dr. King's youngest daughter.  “But an even greater tribute to my father's legacy is evidenced by the people, like the Give Back Day Heroes, who demonstrate the commitment to serve their communities throughout the year, not just on MLK Day.”

More about the 2010 Allstate Give Back Day Heroes:

Lucy Hall-Gainer – Atlanta, Ga.

For more than a decade, Lucy Hall-Gainer has assisted troubled women in Atlanta by providing them with a safe haven – the Mary Hall Freedom House (MHFH), named in memory of Hall-Gainer's mother.  As the organization's CEO, she has helped more than 2,500 women beat addiction and become self-sufficient individuals.  Hall-Gainer established MHFH with just $5,000, two apartments and two employees in 1996.  Today, MHFH has over 50 apartments and 70 employees to accommodate distressed women and their children.  At age six, Hall-Gainer watched her mother die of alcoholism, inspiring her life-long commitment to helping others.  An addict herself for 10 years, Hall-Gainer sought help and guidance to eventually end her reliance on drugs and alcohol.  With several years of experience working with nonprofits, Hall-Gainer is now living her dream of empowering women and their children to break the cycle of addiction, poverty and homelessness, offering that same helping hand with MHFH.