Al, Today and Toyota Lend a Hand to Local Las Vegas Charity

Culinary Training Academy to Receive a New Toyota Sienna

- Toyota donates new Sienna to the Culinary Training Academy of Las Vegas in part with the Today Show's "Lend a Hand Series"

- Toyota has proudly participated in the "Lend a Hand" series since 2009

- Toyota's 100 Cars for Good program, an initiative separate from the "Lend a Hand" vehicle donations, is providing 100 vehicles over the course of 100 days to 100 non-profits based on votes from the public

News provided by

Toyota

Jun 14, 2011, 07:42 ET

LAS VEGAS, June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota today announced it will donate a new Sienna to the Culinary Training Academy in part with the Today Show's "Lend a Hand Series." Now in its tenth consecutive year, "Lend a Hand" continues its mission to help small charities across the country work towards improving conditions in their communities by surprising the selected non-profits with trucks full of goods and supplies to aid in their efforts.

The Culinary Training Academy (CTA) is an organization that offers low-cost hospitality training, an affordable restaurant and catering services, and free meals to needy children. The goal of the organization is to provide high-quality training that will enable people to get good jobs in the hospitality industry, with decent wages, a projected career path, and benefits including healthcare, a pension, and a voice on the job. CTA is located just a few miles from the Las Vegas Strip in the federally designated Southern Nevada Enterprise Community to better serve the disadvantaged who need help in getting training and employment.

"Toyota is thrilled to support the Today Show's Lend a Hand Series in recognizing the important work of local charities like the Culinary Training Center" said Michael Rouse, vice president of philanthropy. "In addition to participating in the Lend a Hand Series, Toyota is also currently running a separate program on Toyota's Facebook called '100 Cars for Good' where we invite the public to help us donate 100 cars, in 100 days, to charities they consider worthy. So naturally, Toyota lending a hand to charities that Today deems worthy is a natural extension of our philosophy to put cars on the road doing good, all across the country."

Toyota has been proud to participate in the Lend a Hand Series since 2009. For the past two years, Toyota participated in one day of the weeklong series, with one Sienna donation per week.

New for 2011, Toyota's 100 Cars for Good program is the first Toyota initiative that engages the public to determine how corporate philanthropic donations will be awarded. Public voting for Toyota's 100 Cars for Good program opened May 9 and will continue through August 16. Voters may visit Toyota's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/toyota) and place one vote per day, each day, over the course of the program. Each day, the previous day's winner will be announced and five new nonprofit organizations will be featured for voting. Winning organizations can choose from the following vehicles: Prius, Tacoma, Tundra, Highlander Hybrid, Sienna or Sienna Mobility. With each vehicle, Toyota Financial Services will provide a six-year, 100,000 mile Toyota Vehicle Service Agreement to provide extended protection beyond the vehicle warranty. The 500 finalists, from which the 100 winners are ultimately selected, were chosen by an independent panel of judges who are experts in the fields of philanthropy and corporate social responsibility.

Since 1991, Toyota has contributed more than $500 million to non-profit organizations, and has always been guided by a strong belief in serving the communities where it does business.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE: TM) established operations in the United States in 1957 and currently operates 10 manufacturing plants, including one under construction. Toyota directly employs nearly 30,000 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.

Toyota is committed to being a good corporate citizen in the communities where it does business and believes in supporting programs with long-term sustainable results. Toyota supports numerous organizations across the country, focusing on education, the environment and safety. Since 1991, Toyota has contributed more than $500 million to philanthropic programs in the U.S.

For more information on Toyota's commitment to improving communities nationwide, visit http://www.toyota.com/community.

SOURCE Toyota