Toyota, Suppliers Disaster Relief Giving Nears $86,000
Auto industry and team members donate money, goods and services
BLUE SPRINGS, Miss., June 20, 2014 /3BL Media/ – In the aftermath of the April 28 tornado that struck Northeast Mississippi, Toyota asked how they could help those in need. The answer shaped itself in the form of almost $86,000 donated by Toyota, near site suppliers and team members.
Toyota Mississippi and its team members collectively donated of more than $35,000 to volunteer organizations responding to tornado relief efforts in North Mississippi. The donation included a company donation of $20,000 to the Northeast Mississippi Chapter of the American Red Cross and $15,000 from Toyota team members and the company’s dollar-for-dollar donation match program.
“We are very proud of our team members for their outpouring of support and generosity following the tornado this spring,” said Sean Suggs, vice president at Toyota Mississippi. “Our team members genuinely care about the welfare of others, and I am humbled to work beside each of them.”
Supplier donations totaled $23,000 with giving ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 per company. Toyota Boshoku, Systems Automotive Interiors (SAI) and Auto Parts Manufacturing Mississippi (APMM) each donated $5,000; Diversity Vuteq donated $4,000; and Toyota Tsusho America, Blue Springs Metals, Magnolia Automotive Services and Green Metals each donated $1,000.
“I am very proud of our supplier’s for the work they have done,” said Masafumi Hamaguchi, Toyota Mississippi president. “Toyota, our suppliers and team members worked as one team to help people in need and to support local communities as they heal.”
In addition to monetary donations, Toyota and supplier team members volunteered 1,445 hours of personal time removing debris from damaged areas. Volunteer hours account for approximately $27,960 based on a report by the nonprofit organization Independent Sector.
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.
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