Toyota Honors Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with Annual $60,000 Donation to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the Tom Joyner Foundation

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Jan 11, 2018, 12:00 ET

PLANO, Texas, Jan. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of the life and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Toyota Financial Services (TFS) announced its continued support of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), with its annual donation of $60,000 to five HBCUs and the Tom Joyner Foundation.

A long-standing supporter of the African-American community, TFS established the donation to meet and assist numerous talented young minds who may have otherwise been unable to complete their education due to the lack of financial aid. The program builds upon a decade-long partnership between Toyota and the Tom Joyner Foundation to support HBCU students.

"Dr. King believed all young people should be given an opportunity to receive the best education possible," said John Ridgeway, general manager of TFS' Customer Service Center in Maryland. "It's been an honor for Toyota to support the mission of HBCUs, and help these students reach their academic and professional aspirations."

The following universities will each receive $10,000:

University of Maryland – Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, Md.
North Carolina A&T University, Greensboro, N.C.
Lincoln University, Lincoln University, Pa.
Huston-Tillotson University, Austin, Texas
Alabama State University, Montgomery, Ala.

Toyota Financial Services also is donating $10,000 to support the work of the Tom Joyner Foundation. The foundation provides academic support, scholarships, and programming to over 80 HBCUs in the Southern and Eastern United States.

"Toyota is a valued partner in our mission to help students at these colleges, and we're thankful to be collaborating with them for a fourth consecutive year," said Thomas Joyner, Jr., president and CEO of the Foundation. "These scholarships are game-changing investments for so many of these students who are working hard to achieve their college degrees."

Financial support of universities is key in driving student success and retention at HBCUs, thereby producing high graduation rates.

"Providing this support not only helps ensure students achieve their dreams of higher education, it also contributes to the sustainment of these HBCUs and helps them address the issues that impact student retention," concluded Ridgeway.

Toyota has been named a DiversityInc Top 50 Company for Diversity® for the past ten years, and has been consistently recognized by Black Enterprise, Hispanic Business, and the Human Rights Campaign as a Best Company for Diversity and one of the Best Places to Work. Toyota has provided millions of dollars in scholarships to deserving students across the nation; its executives actively support and sponsor the company's many diversity and inclusion initiatives, and its team members volunteer tens of thousands of hours of their time and provide their talents to national- and community-based programs across the United States.

For more information, contact Neil Foote, media relations, Tom Joyner Foundation([email protected], 214.448.3765) or Justin Leach, public relations manager, Toyota Financial Services ([email protected], 469.486.9065).

About The Tom Joyner Foundation
The Tom Joyner Foundation (http://tomjoynerfoundation.org) was founded in 1998 as the brainchild of nationally syndicated radio personality Tom Joyner. The mission of the Foundation is to support historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with scholarships, endowments and capacity-building enhancements. The Foundation has provided necessary support to every HBCU in its 18-year history to help sustain and preserve the legacies of these valuable institutions. Through fundraising and donor development initiatives, in excess of $65 million has been raised to support more than 29,000 students attending HBCUs. Additionally, the Foundation has recommended internships, offered matching grant support, and career development to deserving students.

About Toyota Motor North America
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 33 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 46,000 people (more than 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.6 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2017 – and about 85 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 15 years are still on the road today.

Toyota partners with community, civic, academic, and governmental organizations to address our society's most pressing mobility challenges. We share company resources and extensive know-how to support non-profits to help expand their ability to assist more people move more places. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

About Toyota Financial Services
Toyota Financial Services (TFS) is the finance and insurance brand for Toyota in the United States, offering retail auto financing and leasing through Toyota Motor Credit Corporation (TMCC) and Toyota Lease Trust. TFS also offers extended service contracts through Toyota Motor Insurance Services (TMIS). The company services Lexus dealers and customers using the Lexus Financial Services brand. TFS currently employs approximately 3,100 associates nationwide, and has assets totaling over $120 billion. It is part of a worldwide network of comprehensive financial services offered by Toyota Financial Services Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation. We announce material financial information using the investor relations section of our website (www.toyotafinancial.com) and SEC filings. We use these channels, press releases, and social media to communicate about our company, our services and other issues. While not all information we post on social media is of a material nature, some information could be material. Therefore, we encourage those interested in our company to review our posts on Twitter at www.twitter.com/toyotafinancial.

Points of Light has named TFS one of its Civic 50, which recognizes the most community-minded companies in the nation. For more information about the company's support of financial literacy, youth development programs, and other community initiatives, please visit www.tfsinthecommunity.com

Media Contact: Justin Leach 469-486-9065

SOURCE Toyota Motor North America