DETROIT, Jan. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As temperatures
fluctuate this winter in Michigan,
one thing for sure is snowy, icy and even cold rainy days are here
through March and warm winter boots and socks are a "must have" in
Michigan. To protect families from the cold, on Saturday, January 7, 2017, Toyota Motor North
America through its "Toyota Walk In My Boots" community
outreach project and the North American International Auto Show
activities, for the sixth year, stepped in to help area homeless
and low-income families by providing new insulated winter boots and
socks to more than 150 participants of The Salvation Army Harbor
Light and Booth Family Shelter of Detroit, a homeless shelter for primarily
women and single mothers and their children.
Without adequate clothing, often low-income families and people
experiencing homelessness have a much higher risk than the general
population of developing exposure-related conditions such as
hypothermia and frostbite. "With the need greater than ever because
of the cold winter months, we are blessed to have support from good
corporate citizens like Toyota, who are 'Doing the Most Good' by
raising awareness of our mission to feed, shelter and clothe those
who are less fortunate," said Captain Jamie
Winkler, director, The Salvation Army Eastern Harbor Light
System.
The Salvation Army Detroit Harbor Light/Booth Family
Shelter located in Detroit
provides residents with emergency shelter for up to 90 days for
single women and single mothers and their children who have become
victims of unfortunate life circumstances such as house fire, job
loss, foreclosure or domestic violence. Through the shelter
they can receive emergency assistance, case management and pastoral
care and worship and special services such as utility assistance,
down payment assistance toward first month's rent, food and
clothing assistance.
"At Toyota, we want to build more than just great cars and
trucks," said Alva Mason, director,
Multicultural Dealer Relations and Business Strategy, Toyota Motor
North America. "We want to help build great communities; and
in times like these, we must remember to help one another. We
want the work that is being done at The Salvation Army Harbor
Light/Booth Family Shelter to continue for years to come.
And, we hope that our donation of winter boots and socks to the
families will help to enrich their lives…one step at a time."
While many programs offer winter coat giveaways, a person's feet
are often left vulnerable to freezing temperatures and even
frostbite. The timing of the winter boots and socks giveaway
was a comfort to many as freezing temperatures hit Michigan this week.
Greg Jackson, owner, Prestige
Warren Toyota encouraged the families to "don't be discouraged by
where you are right now." While Ronnie McNeir of The Four Tops told them to
"keep your eye on the prize" as he sung a rendition of "Family
Reunion." McNeir also donated Black Vinyl winter coats to
some of the boys at the shelter. Munson Steed, publisher of Rolling Out, and
author of his new children's book, "Little Professor Skye Favorite
Things," personally signed his book for all the children at the
event.
It was a joyous morning as Toyota brought a ray of sunshine and
warmth to the families. Toyota also donated $15,000 to The Salvation Army Harbor Light/Booth
Family Shelter enabling them to continue to provide refuge for
children and families in times of crisis. They also treated
the families to a "Thanksgiving-style" buffet luncheon by Unique
Food Management. In its sixth year, through this program,
Toyota has donated over 1,000 pairs of winter boots and contributed
more than $80,000 in cash just in
Detroit alone. The project
has also been held in Chicago,
Washington DC and, Baltimore, Maryland.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world's
top automaker and creator of the Prius and the Mira fuel cell
vehicle, 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 30
million cars and trucks in North
America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the
U.S.) and directly employ more than 42,000 people (more than 33,000
in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (1,500 in
the U.S.) sold more than 2.67 million cars and trucks (more than
2.35 million in the U.S.) in 2014 – 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