Los Angeles, Calif., (June 9) – Michael Reagan and The Reagan Legacy Foundation announced today the launch of the Liberty Education Tours, a student exchange program that offers American and European students the opportunity to study the words and actions of President Ronald Reagan and other great leaders while visiting sites significant to the history of freedom and democracy in the United States and central Europe.

The program is part of the Reagan Legacy Foundation’s celebration of the former president’s 100th birthday, which is February 6, 2011.

“Ronald Reagan’s fight against Communism began long before he took the presidential oath of office,” said Michael Reagan, eldest son of Ronald Reagan.  “His crusade began when as a young Hollywood actor, he led the film industry’s opposition to the Communist takeover of the studio unions.  Defending freedom and democracy was his life’s mission and I can think of no better way to honor my father’s centennial birthday than to give young people here in the United States and in democracies across the globe the opportunity to walk the path of history with leaders like Ronald Reagan who made possible the quality of life they enjoy.”   

The Liberty Education Tours kick off June 19 when a group of 18 American high school students travel to the Czech Republic and Germany to explore the history of Communism and the events that led to its demise.  While in the Czech Republic, they will visit the village of Lidice where Hitler ordered the murder of all males in retaliation for the assassination of a top Nazi officer by Czech resistance fighters.  They will also see portions of the Iron Curtain at the Czech-Austria border and the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp. 

In Germany, they will visit the Brandenburg Gate where President Reagan delivered his famous “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” speech in 1987, the Holocaust Memorial, the Jewish Museum, Stasi Prison and Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.  Students will also visit the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, located at the most notable Berlin Wall crossing point between the  Soviet sector of East Germany and the American, British and French sector of West Germany during the Cold War.  The museum is home to an impressive collection of artifacts that tell the extraordinary stories of those who risked their lives to escape Communist rule.  The museum also features a Ronald Reagan exhibit sponsored by the Reagan Legacy Foundation and opened as part of the national Fall of the Berlin Wall 20th Anniversary celebration held in November of last year. 

The European students arrive in Los Angeles on July 6 and will receive a special guided tour of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum and the Museum of Tolerance, and enjoy some uniquely American experiences such as Hollywood and Disneyland.  On July 15, they will join the American students in Santa Barbara to take part in a summer student conference presented by Young America’s Foundation, a national non-profit organization that seeks to inspire youth in the ideas of individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values.

Students will have the unique opportunity to visit Ronald Reagan’s beloved Santa Barbara ranch (Rancho del Cielo), which served as the Western White House during his presidency.  Young America's Foundation purchased the ranch in 1998.  The ranch was the site of several significant events including the 1981 signing ceremony for the Economic Recovery Tax Act and the president’s decision to fire 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers.  At the ranch, the president also grappled with how to react to several national and international tragedies such as the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983, the explosion of the U.S. space shuttle Challenger in 1986, and the loss of a South Korean airliner en route from New York City to Seoul that was shot out of the sky by Soviet fighter planes.  Today the ranch is used as an inspirational venue for student education programs.

Throughout the tours, participants will study and discuss speeches and writings from America’s founding fathers as well as Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Margaret Thatcher, Ronald W. Reagan and George W. Bush.    

The program concludes on July 17 with a graduation banquet in Santa Barbara where Michael Reagan will present each student with The Reagan Legacy Foundation Freedom Fellow Award.     

The American students are from California, Texas, Tennessee and Alaska and were selected because of their diverse life experiences and their eagerness to learn about other parts of the world.  The European students are from Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic.  Five of the American students are part of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s After-School All-Stars of Los Angeles (ASAS-LA), a non-profit organization that provides learning and leadership programs for inner city youth.

“Giving our students the opportunity to travel internationally has been a long-time dream of mine,” said After-School All-Stars, Los Angeles President and Executive Director, Ana Campos, who will be accompanying the children as a chaperone.  “The educational tour will open their eyes to new cultures and change their lives forever.”

State Farm® is the inaugural corporate sponsor of the Reagan Foundation’s Liberty Education Tours.

“At State Farm, we are committed to identifying tomorrow’s leaders today and empowering them to succeed to realize their own hopes and dreams,” said Rand Harbert, senior vice president, State Farm. “That’s why we’re proud to sponsor the Reagan Legacy Foundation’s first-ever Liberty Education tour.  This program helps young people actually see the world and understand that their future is limited only by the extent of their imaginations.”

The Liberty Education Tours are open to American and European high school students with at least one year remaining of their secondary education and a minimum grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.  The program is made possible through the generosity of corporate and individual sponsors.    

The Reagan Legacy Foundation plans to expand the number of participants next year and hopes to create a similar program in the near future for college students.

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About After-School All-Stars
Founded by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2002, After-School All-Stars, Los Angeles (ASAS-LA) is a leading after-school program that educates, enlightens and inspires thousands of middle and high school students each day.  Activities are centered on health, fitness and nutrition; the visual and performing arts; and youth leadership and community service learning.  In partnership with the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unified School District, Montebello School District, Mountain View Unified School District, and charter school organizations, ASAS-LA brings innovative, cutting-edge enrichment programs to middle and high school youth that contribute to reducing drug use, crime and violence; while increasing the safety of students in the after school hours.  The organization serves 10,000 students at 21 schools located in at-risk areas throughout LA County, which includes 16 middle schools and five high schools.  For more information got to www.la-allstars.org.

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.  State Farm's 17,700 agents and more than 67,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – almost 79 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. 34 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies.  For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.