TORRANCE, Calif., Oct. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota and Latinos
in Tech Innovation and Social Media (LATISM) will team up to host a
candid education discussion on October
4, leveraging the inclusiveness of Twitter and the expertise
of the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), a longtime
partner of Toyota. The hour-long open discussion will begin at
9 p.m. EDT using the hashtags
#ToyotaLatino and #LATISM.
The discussion will cover a range of literacy and education
topics important in the Latino community and will feature
Rhonda Childress, English as a
second language (ESL) specialist with NCFL (@NCFLiteracy). Toyota
will participate using its new handle, @ToyotaLatino, launched at
the start of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) as a broader tool to
engage the community and share information.
Education is a key focus of Toyota's philanthropy work and a top
priority for LATISM and NCFL. The three organizations have
partnered in the past to foster online conversation, including an
April Twitter party around mentoring, and an August Twitter party
on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Since 1991, Toyota has supported the work of the National Center
for Family Literacy and committed more than $36 million to establish literacy programs that
pair parents and their children in the classroom to increase basic
language and literacy skills. More than one million families across
more than 250 U.S. literacy sites have benefited since the
partnership began. Additionally, Toyota established the "Teacher of
the Year" award to recognize literacy educators and their
efforts.
"Supporting education and literacy in our diverse communities is
part of the core values at Toyota," said Julie Hamp, chief communications officer, Toyota
Motor North America, Inc. "We are proud to join with LATISM and the
National Center for Family Literacy to foster a conversation that
builds on research and respects unique cultural viewpoints – all
with the goal of supporting kids and families."
Toyota also is partnering with LATISM for several other events
this fall, including exclusive automotive sponsorship of the
flagship LATISM 2012 Conference held October
25-27, 2012 in Houston,
expected to host approximately 1,000 community leaders, social
media and technology influencers, educators, government officials
and others. Education is one of four specialty conference tracks,
during which Toyota and its partners will participate on
panels.
"A great number of our members are passionate about schools,
literacy and smart ideas to share with both their online and local
communities," said Ana Roca Castro,
founder and chairwoman of LATISM. "We appreciate Toyota's
sponsorship and the participation of the National Center for Family
Literacy to spur the discussion and encourage us all to examine
issues that impact our children and the future of this
country."
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE: TM) established operations in the United States in 1957 and currently
operates 10 manufacturing plants. Toyota directly employs over
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 over
$600 million dollars to philanthropic
programs in the U.S.
For more information on Toyota's commitment to improving
communities nationwide, visit www.toyota.com/philanthropy.
ABOUT LATISM
Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media (LATISM) is a 501(c)
4 nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing the
social, civic and economic status of the Latino community through
technology innovation and social media. LATISM also helps to raise
awareness among corporate brands, NGOs and government entities
about using social media to reach Latinos. Our partnership
initiatives include research, event sponsorships, and leadership
training. A pioneering social media organization with over 180,000
members in its network, LATISM has been hailed as the most
influential online movement in the new multicultural Web. To learn
more about the LATISM organization, visit http://latism.org
Media Contacts:
Javier Moreno
Toyota Motor North America, Inc.
212.715.7469
JMoreno@tma.toyota.com
Micholl Azenon
GolinHarris for Toyota
213.438.8794
mazenon@golinharris.com
SOURCE Toyota