TORRANCE, Calif., Feb. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota pulls
up for the J, and it's nothing but net!
Solidifying its fifth-year partnership with the historical
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), Toyota's
environmental stewardship program Toyota Green Initiative (TGI) is
showing the value of "green" during the 2015 CIAA Basketball
Tournament. Over the last five years, TGI has donated $1 million to support CIAA scholarship and
environmental curricula at various historically black colleges and
universities (HBCUs) and CIAA will commemorate this milestone by
presenting Toyota with the 2015 Corporate Partner of the Year Award
during the Toyota Finals Night at Time Warner Cable Arena.
"We are proud to recognize Toyota as the CIAA Partner of the
Year," says CIAA commissioner Jacqie
McWilliams. "Toyota is the true definition of a partner from
their support of our 12-member institutions and 3,000 plus
student-athletes, to their drive in providing opportunities to
educate our students, alumni and community on the benefits of
sustainable living. Congratulations, and thank you for your
continued support of the CIAA."
In celebration of its continued partnership and leading up to
the CIAA finals, TGI will kick back with the community and flex its
philanthropic muscles during TGI Serve: An Eco-Block Party
where green enthusiasts and local volunteers are invited to help
revitalize Five Points Park (located at 200 French Street,
Charlotte, NC 28216) on
Friday, February 27 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm.
TGI Coalition members, including former WNBA MVP, four-time Olympic
gold-medalist and eco-mom Lisa
Leslie will share her eco-platform and sustainability
practices, while hip-hop pioneer DJ MC Lyte rock the block.
Guests will indulge in an eco-lunch provided by Taco Green-Go
food truck, which uses sustainable practices when sourcing food,
cooking and providing healthy meal options. There will also be a
dedicated "TGI Green Resources Area" where local organizations will
provide health screenings and information on sustainability.
"We're proud to enrich our partnership with the CIAA, while
providing resources that help promote sustainable living,"
said Jim Colon, vice president of African-American Business
Strategy for Toyota Motor Sales, Inc. "Our commitment to
environmental progress extends throughout HBCU campuses and the
surrounding communities."
In addition to Lisa Leslie, the
TGI coalition, a collection of celebrities and environmental
experts who speak on relevant ways to go green, will be in
attendance. Coalition members include Charlotte–native and TGI
Campus Contest Winner Stephen Graddick IV, environmental advocates
Earthseed, SMB Essentials CEO Lake Louise, and green blogger Yoli
Ouiya.
Launched by Toyota in 2009, the Toyota Green Initiative is
designed to educate students, faculty and alumni of historically
black colleges and universities (HBCUs) on the benefits of adopting
a sustainable lifestyle. In 2014, as a symbol of its continued
partnership with the CIAA, Toyota provided each CIAA school with a
Toyota Prius lift back to assist in driving the Toyota "green"
initiative forward.
About Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
(CIAA)
The annual CIAA Basketball Tournament is one of the nation's
premier sporting events. Touted as the third most attended
basketball tournament among all NCAA divisions and recorded
consecutive sellouts, the CIAA has generated over $266 million in economic impact for the state of
North Carolina and over
$16.5 million in overall scholarship
dollars for CIAA member institutions.
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 assembled 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.
For more information about Toyota,
visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
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SOURCE Toyota