DETROIT, Mich., Jan. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- If you are
poor, you are essentially an illness, an accident, or a paycheck
away from living on the streets. On Saturday, January 10, 2015, Toyota Motor
Sales, USA, through its
"Toyota Walk In My Boots" community outreach project, stepped
in to help area homeless women and children by providing new
insulated winter boots and socks -- for the fourth consecutive year
-- to the residents of The Salvation Army Denby Center for Children
and Family Services in Detroit. Often homeless
individuals do not have adequate clothing to fight the cold
elements of a Michigan
winter. While many programs offer winter coat giveaways, a
person's feet are often left vulnerable to freezing temperatures
and even frost bite. The project offers comfort in a time of
need as temperatures dropped to extreme lows this past week.
Toyota also gave a $15,000 donation
to The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit enabling them to continue to
provide refuge for children and families in times of crisis.
The Salvation Army Denby Center currently offers shelter for up
to 160 residents -- primarily women and single mothers and their
children -- due to job loss, house fires, foreclosure or domestic
violence. Residents can remain in the shelter for up to 90
days. "We are so grateful to Toyota for both the monetary
donation to the Metro Detroit area, and the footwear donation to
the Denby Center residents specifically, which is especially
helpful during these harsh winter months," said Major Mark Anderson, general secretary and Metro
Detroit area commander, The Salvation Army Eastern Michigan
Division. "With the need greater than ever because of the
cold winter storms, we are blessed to have support from good
corporate citizens like Toyota, who are 'Doing the Most Good' by
raising awareness of our mission to feed, shelter and clothe those
who are less fortunate."
An estimated 86,000 Michigan
residents are homeless, according to the Community Housing
Network. More than half of Michigan's homeless population is made up of
families; and one in three who are homeless are children. In
Detroit alone, two-thirds of people can't afford basic needs like
housing and health care, even when family members are employed; and
67% of Detroit families are either
under the poverty line or what is identified as "ALICE",
asset-limited, income-constrained, employed, says the United
Way.
"At Toyota, we want to build more than just great cars and
trucks," said Michael Rouse, vice
president, Diversity, Philanthropy and Community Affairs, Toyota
Motor Sales, USA, Inc. "We
want to help build great places to live; and in times like these,
we must remember to help one another. We want the work that
is being done at The Salvation Army Denby Center for almost 90
years to continue for years to come. And, we hope that our
donation of winter boots and socks will help to enrich lives...one
step at a time."
One TSA Denby Center resident commented that she walked into the
shelter with her daughter both wearing baby dolls shoes. She
stated that she was very thankful to Toyota because now they both
have boots to keep their feet warm as they walk to the bus stop and
other places they need to go.
Through this project, Toyota is also helping to support the
Michigan economy. The
insulated winter boots and socks were supplied by Moosejaw,
a Michigan-based outdoor retailer
specializing in outdoor recreational apparel and gear.
Moosejaw has six locations in Michigan including a downtown Detroit store.
Toyota also treated residents of the facility to a buffet
luncheon catered by Unique Food Management, Inc.
Residents expressed their gratitude to receive a down-home
cooked meal -- something they have missed since their lifestyle
emergencies had taken place.
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 (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than
40,000 people (more than 32,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North
American dealerships (1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.6 million
cars and trucks (more than 2.37 million in the U.S.) in 2014 – 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 The Salvation Army Denby Center for Children and
Family Services
The Salvation Army Denby Center for Children and Family
Services has been a refuge for children and families in times of
crisis for almost 90 years. Currently, the Center shelters
and serves up to 160 residents – primarily single women and single
mothers and their children. These individuals have become
victims of unfortunate life circumstances such as house fire, job
loss, foreclosure or domestic violence. The Denby Center
provides residents with shelter for up to 90 days. While in
the shelter, residents are able to receive different types of
assistance from housing placement assistance, to providing training
preparation for future independent life. Special support
services are also available to those in need such as utility
assistance, down payment assistance toward first month's rent, food
and clothing assistance. Through our services, we seek
to encourage and empower each individual to achieve their unique
potential and to strengthen the family unit. For more
information about The Salvation Army, please call 877-SAL-MICH, or
visit us at www.salmich.org.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/toyota-kicks-off-detroit-auto-show-by-donating-winter-boots-to-local-area-homeless-women-and-children-300018716.html
SOURCE Toyota