LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Toyota
and the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) today
announced that community programs across the nation can submit
initial applications for the prestigious Toyota Family Learning
grants, which recognize innovation in engaging families in
learning.
The three-year, $175,000 grants
are a part of Toyota Family Learning's pioneering movement to
provide opportunities for children and parents to learn together by
funding new service learning and family mentor programs. Five
organizations will be awarded a grant, in addition to a wide range
of NCFL training, communication and technical support, learning
items and materials.
Over the course of Toyota Family Learning's six-year initiative,
15 grants will be awarded. The first round of five grantees
included Houston Public Library, Lincoln Public Schools, and
community programs from California, New York and Rhode Island. In
less than six months, these program participants have:
- Worked as families to serve their communities—activities
include visiting senior citizens, beautifying local parks and
packaging food for the homeless;
- Completed approximately 17,000 hours of learning together as
a family and as a community;
- Reported gains in participating parents' organizational
skills, leadership skills, and levels of self-efficacy;
- Seen an increase in father involvement in literacy
activities with their families child's school;
- Reported that families are more likely to use technology for
educational purposes; and
- Reported that families are more likely to interact with
their child's school.
"The biggest impact comes from the whole family committing to
positive and sustained involvement in learning," said Emily Kirkpatrick, vice president of NCFL.
"We're pleased with the results we've seen from the first Toyota
Family Learning Grant recipients and eager to expand the
implementation network through this RFP."
"Toyota's more than 20 years of partnership with the NCFL has
taught us that bringing parents and children together to learn
works," said Mike Goss, vice
president of external affairs for Toyota Motor Engineering &
Manufacturing North America, Inc. "That's why we are so
excited to announce the second round of the Toyota Family Learning
Grants and proud to support programs across the country that extend
learning beyond the four walls of the classroom and into homes and
communities."
Schools, libraries and other community-based organizations that
provide services to families are eligible to apply. Initial
applications are being accepted now through June 23 at www.toyotafamilylearning.org.
Submissions will be evaluated on a number of factors, including
strength of existing services, commitment from community partners,
and strength and innovation of proposal. A select group of
organizations will be asked to submit full applications in July,
and award recipients will be notified in August.
In addition to the funding grants, Toyota Family Learning is
committed to engaging families online, offline, and on the go with
tools like Family Time Machine, a website that helps parents and
kids make better use of every moment in the day. More information
about Toyota Family Learning can be found here.
About the National Center for Families Learning
The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) is a national
nonprofit organization dedicated to helping adults and children
learn together. NCFL creates and deploys innovative programs and
strategies that support learning, literacy and family engagement in
education. From the classroom to the community to the digital
frontier, NCFL collaborates with educators, advocates and
policy-makers to help families construct hotspots for learning
wherever they go. For more information on NCFL's 24-year track
record, visit www.familieslearning.org.
About Toyota
Toyota, 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 (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ nearly
40,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North
American dealerships sold more than 2.3 million cars and trucks in
2012 – 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. (NYSE:TM)
For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyota.com or
www.toyotanewsroom.com.
SOURCE National Center for Families Learning