Toyota Increases Scholarship Support for Children of Marines and Navy Corpsmen

San Diego, CA, June 27, 2014 /3BL Media/ – As many as 300 new higher education scholarships will be created for children of Marines and Navy Corpsmen over the next five years as a result of an additional $1.35 million contribution from Toyota to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, the nation’s oldest and largest provider of need-based scholarships for military children. Toyota has supported the Scholarship Foundation since 2004, and today’s gift brings Toyota’s total investment in the Foundation to more than $3 million. 
 
“Marine and Navy Corpsmen make legendary sacrifices every day. Sending their children to college shouldn’t be one of them,” said Margaret B. Davis, President and CEO, Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. “Toyota’s expanded commitment will help ensure that the Scholarship Foundation can continue to award a scholarship to every eligible child who applies. The investment that the company is making in these students is an investment in our next generation of leaders.  We deeply appreciate Toyota’s generosity and its long-standing commitment to our military and education.”
 
San Diego-Area Scholarship Recipients Honored at Ceremony
 
Scholarship recipients Andrew Coba of Oceanside, CA and sisters Elleine Sanchez and Ellysa Aquino of Fallbrook, CA will be honored by Toyota tonight during a special event aboard the USS Midway in San Diego.  This event is part of the opening reception of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials’ (NALEO) 31st Annual Conference. 
 
Andrew Coba is the son of Captain Javier Coba USMC.  When Andrew was three years old, his father came to the U.S., enlisted in the Marine Corps and gained his citizenship. Capt. Coba later moved his family to the U.S. and was commissioned an Officer.  Andrew credits his father, who has served for 18 years, for his drive to succeed.  Both Andrew and his sister Amy, also a Scholarship Foundation scholarship recipient, are working hard to meet the high-bar their father has set.
 
Sisters and scholarship recipients Elleine Sanchez and Ellysa Aquino credit their father, Gunnery Sergeant Pedro Aquino USMC, for their commitment to education and their drive to succeed.  Gunnery Sgt. Aquino came to the U.S. from El Salvador as a young boy.  In high school, Marine Corps recruiters gained his attention and he enlisted following his senior year.  A Wounded Warrior, Gunnery Sgt. Aquino has served Country and Corps for nearly 20 years, including five combat deployments.  He is battling Post-Traumatic Stress and with the support of the Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Battalion has learned to cope with his ailment.

“It’s an honor to be able to give back to the Marine and Navy families who have sacrificed so much for all of us,” said Michael Rouse, vice president, diversity, philanthropy and community affairs for Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A. “Higher education is a valuable and lifelong investment and we’re pleased to be able to help lessen the financial burden for the children of our nation’s military families.”
 
About Toyota’s Commitment to America’s Military Families
 
Toyota has supported the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation since 2004, and today’s gift brings Toyota’s total giving to the Foundation to more than $3 million.  The company currently supports 16 scholarship recipients each year through a $1.65 million endowment it established with the Foundation in 2004.  Toyota’s pledge to the Scholarship Foundation is an important part of the company’s ongoing commitment to our Nation’s service members.  Toyota is also an active participant in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s nationwide Hiring Our Heroes program that helps veterans and military spouses find meaningful employment. 

    About Toyota 
Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world's top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands.  Over the past 50 years, we’ve built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 40,000 people (more than 32,000 in the U.S.)  Our 1,800 North American dealerships (1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.5 million cars and trucks (more than 2.2 million in the U.S.) in 2013 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today.   
 
Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment.  As part of this commitment, we share the company’s extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good.  To date, Toyota has contributed more than $700 million to nonprofits in the U.S.  For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com. 
 
About the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation 
The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation is the nation's oldest and largest provider of need-based scholarships to military children.  Since its inception in 1962, the Scholarship Foundation has provided more than 30,000 scholarships valued at over $80 million to Marine and Navy Corpsman children whose parent has been killed or wounded in combat or have demonstrated financial need.  For more information on the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, please visit http://www.mcsf.org.

Media Contacts

For Toyota
Tania Saldana
(859) 815-9968
tania.saldana@tema.toyota.com
 
For the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation
Kelsi Morris
(202) 944-5108 
Kelsi.Morris@hkstrategies.com