Matthews NC Adult Daycare Winner in Toyota 100 Cars For Good

Toyota of Concord congratulates Blessed Assurance Adult Day Care, another Charlotte area winner in the Toyota 100 Cars for Good contest.

Blessed Assurance is a not-for-profit organization that cares for elderly or disabled adults who do not need 24-hour residential care, but cannot safely be left alone during the day. They provide skilled nursing care and health education, licensed rehabilitation services, recreational therapy, meals and nutritional counseling, family support groups, and the services of medical social workers. When necessary, they monitor health and hygiene needs, including bathing, grooming, blood pressure and blood sugar monitoring, medication administration, and many other specific needs.

The program benefits adults who are physically or cognitively impaired or otherwise need help to function independently in the community. The program helps such adults maintain a level of independence outside a nursing home, but still safely supervised. Blessed Assurance offers a community setting with social activities and peer support in a stimulating environment that helps to maintain cognitive function and prevent social isolation. It allows caregivers to work or otherwise leave the home during the day, lifting an economic and social burden for them as well.

For the contest, Toyota accepts thousands of applications from across the county, explaining who they serve, how they help, and how the organization would use a new vehicle. Qualifying groups include those who improve society through education, health and safety, animal welfare, and social services. Applications are reviewed by a judging panel of independent experts in philanthropy and service to narrow the list of organizations down to 500 finalists.

Final winners are chosen by public vote, so finalists work to raise awareness about the services they provide and how the community would benefit if they won a new vehicle from 100 Cars for Good. Each day for 100 days, five groups go up for vote, and one is announced as the winner of their choice of a new Toyota Highlander, Tundra, Camry Hybrid, Prius V or Sienna.

Toyota of Concord happily congratulates Blessed Assurance Adult Day Care on their well-deserved win in 100 Cars for Good, and encourages the community to support their efforts in any way you can.

Charlotte Children’s Charity Winner in Toyota 100 Cars For Good

Toyota of Concord congratulates A Child’s Place of Charlotte, one of the latest winners announced in the Toyota 100 Cars for Good contest.

For the contest, Toyota accepts applications from thousands of nonprofits around the county, explaining who and how they help and why they are deserving of the prize. Organizations include those who improve society through animal welfare, health & safety, education, and services to children, adults, and people with disabilities. 100 Cars for Good applications are reviewed by an independent judging panel of experts in philanthropy and service to narrow the selections down to 500 organizations.

Final decisions are made by public vote, so finalists work hard to rally support and raise awareness about their organizations and how a new vehicle from 100 Cars for Good would help them serve their community. Each day for 100 days, five groups go up for vote, and one is announced as the winner of their choice of a new Toyota Highlander, Tundra, Camry Hybrid, Prius V or Sienna.

A Child’s Place (ACP) in Charlotte, NC is a group that works to erase the impact of homelessness on children and their education. According to ACP, homeless children were once unable to attend public schools because they had no home address. Homeless children are sick four times as often as other children, are usually two to three grade levels behind other children, and experience behavioral and emotional problems three times more than their peers. The national graduation rate for homeless children is below 25%.

ACP works with the homeless population of Charlotte to minimize the immediate effects of homelessness on individuals while providing the stability and education needed to break the future cycle. These services are provided free to recipients, and are completely privately funded, with no federal, state or local tax dollars.

Just a few of the services provided to students include counseling sessions with students and teachers to evaluate progress, school supplies, backpacks, field trip funds, and clothing or uniforms to wear to school. They are also provided with daily or weekly snack packs so they have food outside of the breakfast and lunch each school provides. They also provide counseling services and community resources for food, housing and job training for parents.

It costs ACP $695 per year to serve a homeless child, while the same child would cost $62,000 to be in the juvenile justice system, or $39,000 to be incarcerated or provided with substance abuse treatment or government assistance as an adult. Toyota of Concord is proud to be involved with a company dedicated to giving back. We happily congratulate A Child’s Place on their well-deserved win in 100 Cars for Good, and encourage the community to support their efforts in any way you can.

Toyota of Concord Congratulates Toyota 100 Cars for Good Finalists

Toyota has announced the finalists in the second annual Toyota 100 Cars for Good competition, which awards 100 new Toyota vehicles to 100 nonprofit organizations over 100 days.

The 500 finalists were evaluated by a panel of independent experts in areas of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. They represent a wide range of services, including animal welfare, education, environment, arts, health, veterans’ affairs and public safety.

Finalists will be provided with a digital video camera, training toolkit and online advertising credits courtesy of Toyota, to raise awareness of their organizations and attract voters to their 100 Cars for Good campaign. Each finalist will make a video explaining how the new vehicle will help their community efforts, and the videos will be featured on Toyota’s Facebook page at www.100carsforgood.com.

Voting for the winners of Toyota 100 Cars for Good begins May 14 and continues through August 21.  Five organizations will be featured each day on Toyota’s Facebook page. A winner is chosen each day based on popular vote, and the four runners-up each day receive a $1,000 grant from Toyota.

The winning organizations have their choice of a Camry Hybrid, Highlander SUV, Prius v hybrid, Sienna minivan, Sienna Mobility or Tundra full-sized pickup, whichever new Toyota they believe best suits their needs. Toyota Financial Services will also provide a six-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty will also be provided for each vehicle.

Toyota of Concord was proud to participate in last year’s Toyota 100 Cars for Good contest by presenting new vehicles to two deserving local non-profits. This year, finalists from North Carolina include A Child’s Place of Charlotte, Adult Day and Health Care Services in Matthews, Bridge II Sports in Durhan, MedicForce in Almond, and project hope consulting Inc. in Charlotte. We congratulate the finalists and encourage you to vote for your favorite worthy organization.

Toyota 100 Cars for Good Program Gifts Two Local Charities With New Toyota Vehicles

Toyota Scion of Concord will award The Humane Society of Concord & Greater Cabarrus County and Petey’s Promise with new vehicles to support their philanthropic efforts in the community and expand their missions’ reach. The Humane Society, which will receive a new Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited, will use the SUV for a variety of operating needs, including the transport of animals from the shelter to the spay/neuter clinic, for veterinary care and to move supplies between the nonprofit’s three facilities. The new Toyota Tundra will help Petey’s Promise deliver more animal food and care items to pet owners facing financial hardships, as well as haul large equipment needed for the organization’s outreach events.

The dealership will host the key presentation on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011 at 10 a.m. and the event will be joined by furry friends from the Humane Society, along with their mascot, Roof & Shingles. Petey’s Promise’s very own Petey, a rescued dog, and his little brother Cowboy will also be at the celebration.

The Toyota 100 Cars for Good program has awarded 100 vehicles over the course of 100 days to 100 deserving non-profit organizations nationwide based on votes from the public. 100 Cars for Good was launched as a Facebook-enabled philanthropy initiative which engaged supporters of these charities through its Facebook application. Each day for 100 days, five organizations were profiled on the Facebook page and the one with the most votes at the end of the day was awarded a car. The 400 runners-up each received $1,000.

“We are so grateful to receive this new car and we thank Toyota and our supporters for answering our prayers,” said Judy Sims, CEO of the Humane Society of Concord. “Being a woman of strong faith, I always believed our prayers would be heard. We rely on volunteers to pick up animals from puppy mill raids and take them to our shelters. We also have to transport supplies by making multiple trips. This vehicle donation will allow us to be more efficient in getting our work done and assisting in animal rescues where adequate transportation is needed.”

With three locations in Cabarrus County, The Humane Society’s mission is to end animal suffering and cruelty, reduce overpopulation and educate the public on responsible pet ownership. Through the support of trained volunteers, the agency also investigates cases of animal abuse and neglect, provides affordable pet spaying and neutering and helps find homes for abandoned animals.

"We are absolutely thrilled to have won a new truck from Toyota. We never in a million years would have thought this was possible,” said Elizabeth Mellott, president and founder of Petey’s Promise. “Our board members and volunteers often dig into their own pockets to fulfill the needs of pet owners and this generous donation from Toyota will help alleviate the expense of getting transportation to carry large donations to our clients. Thanks to Toyota and our supporters, we will easily quadruple our deliveries, which means more animals will be fed and remain in the homes of their loving families.”

Petey’s Promise seeks to provide temporary food and pet-care items to animal owners in the Charlotte and Concord area who are otherwise forced to surrender their pets to shelters. Mellott, an animal activist, plans to add a no-kill animal rescue shelter, a large animal sanctuary and eventually develop a branch to assist in marine rescues.

“Toyota Scion of Concord is proud to support Petey’s Promise and the Humane Society of Concord by awarding them new vehicles through Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good,” said Wendell Hairfield, general manager of Toyota Scion of Concord. “Most of our customers are local and giving back to our community is one way we show our appreciation for their continued support. These organizations do a lot for this area so we are honored to host an event that celebrates both nonprofits.”

Throughout the year, Toyota Scion of Concord participates in a variety of charitable activities within the community. During the holidays, the dealership supports Marines in Afghanistan by sending more than a dozen care packages to those serving in the Middle East. It also holds an annual clothing drive to collect outer wear for Coats for Kids.

The Toyota 100 Cars for Good Program enables 100 organizations to receive a Toyota vehicle to make a greater impact on the community. 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. If you’d like to learn more, please visit http://www.toyota.com/about/philanthropy/.