For Immediate Release
Contact:
Becky O’Neill | 646.369.9374
Becky.oneill@teachforamerica.org
Tracy Segal | 626.665.9141
tsegal@golinharris.com
Teach For America-Mississippi Delta Will Use New Toyota Vehicle To Help Support Corps Members and Their Students in Arkansas and Mississippi
OXFORD, Miss.,October 9, 2012–Teach For America in the Delta announced today that it has been selected as one of 100 nonprofit winners in Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program. Teach For America recruits, trains, and develops top recent college graduates and professionals to teach in high-need urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in the pursuit of educational equity. 100 Cars for Good is a major philanthropic initiative in which the automaker is giving 100 cars to 100 nonprofits over the course of 100 days. Teach For America was selected based on votes from the public on the 100 Cars for Good Facebook page.
“Everyone at Teach For America is thrilled to have been selected as a winner for the 2012 100 Cars for Good program,” said Ron Nurnberg, executive director of Teach For America in the Mississippi Delta. “We are grateful for this opportunity to spotlight the wonderful work of our teachers and their students, and are thrilled that our instructional coaches will be able to cover hundreds of miles in the new Toyota as they visit classrooms across the region.”
Teach For America corps members teaching in the Delta serve in high-need classrooms across a region spanning 275 miles east to west and 310 miles north to south. Every day, Teach For America staff members travel this expanse to provide support and professional development to some 580 teachers, build partnerships with local school and district office staff, and meet with community leaders engaged in the movement to ensure educational excellence for all children in the region. A donated car from Toyota will help Teach For America significantly cut costs associated with this travel, thereby allowing the organization to support a greater number of corps members.
“At Toyota, we appreciate what a significant impact a new car can have for nonprofits in their work,” noted Michael Rouse, vice president of diversity, philanthropy, and community affairs for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. “All 100 of the winners of the 100 Cars for Good program are providing extraordinary and much-needed services, and we thank Teach For America for their efforts in their community and are honored to deliver a car to help them with their important work.”
A growing body of research demonstrates the effectiveness of Teach For America corps members. Recent studies from Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee found that corps members have a positive impact on student achievement. A 2011 study from Tennessee identified Teach For America as the most effective of the state’s 42 teacher-preparation programs for the second consecutive year.
Toyota’s philanthropy efforts have contributed more than half a billion dollars to U.S. nonprofits since 1991.100 Cars for Good is the company’s first initiative to directly engage the public to determine how its philanthropic donations are awarded. For complete information on 100 Cars for Good and profiles of all 500 finalists, please visit www.100carsforgood.com.
About Teach For America
Teach For America works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunity for children facing the challenges of poverty. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding individuals of all academic disciplines to commit two years to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the movement to end educational inequity. Today more than 10,000 corps members are teaching in 46 urban and rural regions across the country, while nearly 28,000 alumni are working across sectors to ensure that all children have access to an excellent education. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE: TM) established operations in the United States in 1957 and currently operates 10 manufacturing plants in eight states. Toyota directly employs nearly 30,000 people in the U.S. and its investment here is currently valued at more than $18 billion, including sales and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial services and design facilities. Toyota's annual purchasing of parts, materials, goods and services from U.S. suppliers totals more than $23 billion.
Toyota is deeply committed to being a great community partner and is focused on supporting programs in ways that achieve long-term sustainable results. Toyota supports numerous organizations across the country, with a particular concentration on education, the environment and safety. Since 1991, Toyota has contributed more than half a billion dollars to philanthropic programs across the U.S. For more information on Toyota, please visit www.toyota.com.
About Toyota Financial Services (TFS)
TFS is the finance and insurance brand for Toyota and Lexus in the U.S., offering retail auto financing and leasing through Toyota Motor Credit Corporation (TMCC) and Toyota Lease Trust and extended service contracts and other payment protection products through Toyota Motor Insurance Services (TMIS). TFS employs 3,300 associates nationwide, and has managed assets totaling more than $91 billion. It is part of a worldwide network of comprehensive financial services offered by Toyota Financial Services Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation.
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