Vote in online contest to help Be Perfect Foundation get up to $10,000 more

UPLAND, CA (Oct. 14, 2013) — Help Hal Hargrave Jr. win $10,000 for the Be Perfect Foundation in the “Vote for your favorite Safeco Insurance^® Community Hero” event.

 Hargrave is one of just 16 Community Hero Award winners selected from across the country by Safeco Insurance to be in the contest. Your support could help him come out on top in an online voting event that will give $10,000 or $5,000 to the charities represented by the top three heroes with the most votes.

Safeco Insurance already has donated $5,000 to the Be Perfect Foundation on behalf of Hargrave and Brad Kessler, president at Kessler Alair Insurance Services, Inc. in Upland, who nominated Hargrave for the award.

 “Hargrave makes our community better and inspires others to get involved,” said Kessler.

 Safeco Insurance Community Hero Awards honor hometown heroes and nonprofit organizations that have a positive impact in education, health and safety, or civic engagement, and the award program supports the community involvement of independent insurance agents across the country.

The Vote for your favorite Safeco Insurance Community Hero event ends 10 a.m. PST Nov. 4. To participate, click on the Safeco Community Hero ad on the home page of www.Safeco.com or click on the Community Hero tab on the Safeco Insurance Facebook.

 Six years ago at the age of 17, Hargrave was looking forward to playing baseball and studying business at Cal State University in Long Beach. But, a truck accident altered his life forever, leaving him with a broken neck, a spinal-cord injury and only a 1 to 3 percent chance he’ll ever walk again.

 Undaunted, Hargrave decided to help others while fighting his own battle and founded the Be Perfect Foundation — a nonprofit that works to restore hope and advance the independence of spinal-cord injury victims, as well as provide scholarships to those who need financial assistance with supplies and rehabilitation costs.

 Just one year after his accident, Hargrave both created and coordinated the organization’s first fundraiser, bringing in $250,000 for those affected by spinal-cord injuries.

  "I don't feel like I've said it enough yet. I can't even begin to explain how grateful my family and I are for both the Kessler family, Kessler Alair Insurance, and all the great things you have done for both my family and the foundation," said Hal when he heard about the award. "This is a huge honor through Safeco. Thank you so much for what you're doing. It looks as if this nomination has already paid off huge and I can't be more grateful."

Get involved

To learn more about how you can support Be Perfect Foundation, please visit www.beperfectfoundation.com.

About Safeco Insurance

In business since 1923 and based in Boston, Mass., Safeco Insurance sells personal automobile, homeowners and specialty products through a network of more than 10,000 independent insurance agencies throughout the United States. Safeco is a Liberty Mutual Insurance company.

Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2012 direct premiums written as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Liberty Mutual Insurance also ranks 81st on the Fortune 100 list of largest U.S. corporations, based on 2012 revenue.

For more information about Safeco Insurance, go to www.Safeco.com.

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