TORRANCE, Calif., May 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Paralympian
snowboarder Amy Purdy's Adaptive
Action Sports (AAS) will get a jump-start from Toyota, beginning
today. Toyota and AAS are expanding their partnership, which
will allow AAS to host 10 competitive para-snowboard events for
wounded veterans by the end of 2015.
"At Toyota, we believe in the spirit of adventure, innovation
and going places, and enjoy collaborating with partners that feel
the same way," said Keith Dahl,
corporate manager of engagement marketing. "Adaptive Action Sports
embodies a similar spirit and serves as a great example of an
organization that is helping others go places they haven't been
before."
AAS, based in Copper Mountain,
Colorado, and co-founded by U.S. Paralympic snowboarder
Amy Purdy, allows disabled children,
young adults and wounded veterans to compete in action sports. Its
core principle is that action sports encourage individuality and
creativity in participants, while building independence and
self-confidence.
Purdy has been a member of Team Toyota, comprising 19 athletes,
since 2012, and is herself a double-amputee who began to snowboard
seven months after receiving prosthetics at the age of 19. She
recently received much acclaim for winning a bronze medal at the
2014 Paralympic Games and for her second place finish on the hit
television show Dancing With the Stars, capturing the heart
of millions of Americans along the way.
"My impetus for starting AAS was to give others the chance to
see the path I followed to get here: from my hospital bed, to the
Paralympics medal podium, to Dancing With the Stars," said
Purdy. "If someone who has been born with a congenital abnormality,
lost a leg, or suffered a brain injury succeeds at snowboarding or
skateboarding, they will believe that they have the ability to
conquer other challenges and truly be ready live beyond their
limits. We appreciate Toyota's enthusiastic support in helping even
more people go beyond their limits, to really go places."
To date, Toyota has provided AAS with a mobility Sienna minivan
that the non-profit organization used to transfer athletes to and
from its training facility in Colorado. The expanded partnership will allow
the organization to continue this effort, while also growing its
services to veterans.
About Toyota
Toyota, the world's top automaker and creator of the Prius, is
committed to building vehicles for the way people live through its
Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, the
company has built more than 25 million cars and trucks in
North America, where Toyota
operates 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly
employ nearly 40,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.).
The company's 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. (NYSE:TM) For more information about Toyota,
visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
About Adaptive Sports
Adaptive Action Sports is a 501c3 non-profit organization based
in Copper Mountain Colorado that
creates action sports opportunities for youth, young adults and
veterans living with permanent physical disabilities TBI and Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder. For more information please visit
www.adacs.org.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140523/90810
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20030501/TOYLOGO
SOURCE Toyota; Adaptive Action Sports