NEW YORK, April 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Creativity,
courage and determination in fostering social good reigns supreme
among those gathered at the fifth annual Women in the World Summit,
and the Toyota Mothers of Invention are no exception. This year,
the Toyota Mothers of Invention transform the lives of hundreds of
thousands of people by collectively making clean water, healthy
food and solar-powered light more accessible to those in need.
Since 2012, the Toyota Mothers of Invention program has
celebrated these amazing women, whose organizations'
ground-breaking ideas are changing lives, at the Women in the World
Summit—and this year was no different. The fifth annual summit,
hosted by Tina Brown Live Media at the David H. Koch Theater in
Lincoln Center concluded this afternoon after three consecutive
days of sessions during which ingenuity, inspiration and the desire
to improve the quality of life across the globe took center
stage.
During the final day of the summit, Toyota presented leaders of
three nascent organizations with Driving Solutions grants of
$50,000 to continue their positive
impact on the lives of others, whether in their own communities or
in a global footprint. Distinguished members of the Toyota
Mothers of Invention Class of 2014 include Anna Stork and Andrea
Sreshta, co-founders of LuminAID; Lauren Shweder Biel, executive director and
co-founder, DC Greens and Tricia
Compas-Markman, founder of DayOne Response.
They join a remarkable group of women honored at previous
summits, including 2013 recipients Kativa M. Shukla, founder and CEO of Fenugreen;
Caitria and Morgan O' Neill,
co-founders and chief executives of Recovers.org; and Sejal Hathi and Tara
Roberts, co-founders of girltank, as well as the 2012 class
– Aseneth Andrews, founder of The
Catherine Ferguson Academy for Young Women; Talia Leman, founder of Randomkid.org; and
Jessica O. Matthews and Julia Silverman, inventors of the sOccket and
co-founders of Uncharted Play.
"Toyota is proud to help fuel the innovations of the Mothers of
Invention who are recognized here today," said Flaurel English,
vice president, marketing, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and summit co-presenter. "The
2014 honorees join an extraordinary group of women who are not only
making the world a better place, but also inspiring others to spark
positive change in communities around the globe."
The Summit, hosted by Tina Brown,
a long time champion of women's issues, and presented by Toyota,
centered on vivid journalistic storytelling, as inspiring leaders
shared stories of courage and determination, empowering all in
attendance to make a difference in her world. In addition to Brown,
a long time champion of women's issues, the event featured
appearances by several leaders including President Jimmy Carter, former First Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the
leader of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde,
alongside fashion and entertainment luminaries Diane von Furstenberg, Rashida Jones, Angelique Kidjo and Sarah Silverman, treating attendees to a truly
memorable experience.
About the Toyota Mothers of Invention:
Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta – Co-founders, LuminAID
Anna Stork and fellow
architecture classmate Andrea
Sreshta invented LuminAID, an inflatable and rechargeable
light source, as a class project. The light bulb first went on
after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Stork and Sreshta recognized that most disaster-relief aid focused
on providing shelter and food, often leaving victims in the dark.
Together, they believed that a good design and innovative
technology could illuminate the victims' darkest hours.
The pair built the first LuminAID prototype in their kitchens,
not knowing that a year later they would have a chance to benefit
from their own invention; when an earthquake struck while they were
visiting Tokyo, they discovered
the profound value of light without power. Experiencing LuminAID's
life-altering assistance first-hand gave them the incentive to
raise funds for their project.
Lauren Shweder Biel –
Executive Director and Co-founder, DC Greens
DC Greens is a community-driven strategy that brings healthy,
sustainable and affordable nutrition to Washington, D.C. families. Executive director
and co-founder Lauren Shweder Biel
first took note of the abominable obesity statistics for D.C. youth
in 2009, but also saw all of the functional, farmable land and
farmers' markets around the District, and wondered about the
disconnect.
With DC Greens, Schweder Biel is bridging that gap with
education initiatives to teach youth why sustainable nutrition
matters. Along with teaching kids about nutrition, and educating
future "garden teachers" to staff some of D.C.'s 90-plus school
gardens, DC Greens has established school garden markets right
outside the classrooms, ensuring that kids who farm the food are
also responsible for selling it to their local communities.
Overall, the schools turn profits, and D.C. residents can access
fresh, locally grown produce.
Another one of DC Greens' initiatives is equally as creative,
and involves taking their work outside of the classroom and into
the doctor's office. The Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program,
launched in 2012, allows doctors to write at-risk residents
prescriptions which work as currency in DC Greens farmers' markets.
Families can access produce—free of charge—and build a cornerstone
of healthy habits.
Tricia Compas-Markman –
Founder, DayOne Response
Engineer and designer Patricia 'Tricia' Compas-Markman dedicates
her work to addressing the need for water in times of disaster,
innovating technology that provides disaster victims, soldiers, or
anyone in distress with purified water.
As a part of Engineers Without Borders, Compas-Markman developed
a water treatment system for a rural village in Thailand. It was 2005; a tsunami had struck
South Asia and Hurricane Katrina
hit the U.S. A year later, she created the prototype for the
DayOne Response Waterbag—a portable pouch that collects, treats,
transfers and stores water. Users collect unclean water and, by
adding a Procter & Gamble purifying packet and agitating the
bag, watch the water and sediment separate before pouring a clean,
hydrating stream.
After completing the project, Compas-Markman invested in her
ingenuity and started her own business, bringing the water bag to
market. The response was overwhelmingly supportive, receiving
praise from government agencies, disaster relief non-profits, the
military, and an award from the Clinton Foundation.
For more information about the Toyota Mothers of Invention and
the 2014 Women in the World Summit, please visit
http://www.thedailybeast.com/sponsored/MothersofInvention.html.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world's top automaker and creator of the
Prius, 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 25 million cars and
trucks in North America, where we
operate 14 manufacturing plants and directly employ more than
40,000 people. Our 1,800 North American dealerships sold more
than 2.5 million cars and trucks in 2013 – 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.
About Women in the World Summit
The Women in the World Summit is centered on vivid journalistic
storytelling, featuring inspiring women and men from diverse
cultures and backgrounds. From CEOs and world leaders to artists,
activists and firebrand dissidents, the summit tells the stories of
the courageous and intelligent women who are battling the status
quo in their countries, picking up the pieces in the aftermath of
war and shattering glass ceilings in every sector.
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SOURCE Toyota