PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota
and VH1 Save The Music Foundation, joined by musician,
producer, composer and former founder of The Fugees, Wyclef
Jean, presented South Philadelphia High School with a
$50,000 Music Technology Grant
focused on electronic music creation.
![Toyota and VH1 Save The Music executives presented a $50,000 music technology grant to South Philadelphia High School. Toyota and VH1 Save The Music executives presented a $50,000 music technology grant to South Philadelphia High School.](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/822097/Toyota_and_VH1_Save_The_Music.jpg)
At a spirited school-wide assembly held at South Philadelphia
High School's auditorium on Wednesday,
February 13, Matt Ozawa,
Engagement Marketing Manager at Toyota Motor North America, and
Chiho Feindler, Senior Director of
Programs and Policy at VH1 Save The Music Foundation, awarded the
grant to the school. South Philadelphia High School Principal,
Kimlime Chek-Taylor and Executive Director, Office of The Arts
& Academic Enrichment, Frank Machos, were also in attendance
and spoke to the importance of music education in Philadelphia's public schools. The
Philadelphia 76ers Dunk Squad
surprised the crowd with an energetic performance with flips and
tricks to hype up the room before Wyclef walked into the aisles of
the auditorium answering questions from students and inspiring them
with a message about education, music and success. One student
asked Wyclef if it was challenging to get to where he is today and
Wyclef responded by saying:
"At the end of the day, my mom told me if you stay focused and
positive and do what you want to do, it's going to happen. Don't
forget, we don't do this because it's easy, we do this because it's
hard and to show them we can overcome where we came from."
Two young emerging artists, Jazzy Amra and Jeremy Torres, joined Wyclef on stage for an
intimate set singing their original songs before Wyclef broke out
into a freestyle jam session. Following the assembly, a group of
music students joined Wyclef in an intimate workshop where he
helped students one-on-one to create a beat using the brand new
production equipment that was donated to the school as part of the
Music Technology grant. The $50,000
donation to VH1 Save The Music fulfills a new program geared toward
electronic music creation and technology—including DJ'ing, beat
making, songwriting and audio engineering— to develop students'
creative and technical talents.
"At Toyota, we believe that music education is key to
expression, creativity and connection," said Matt Ozawa, engagement marketing manager, Toyota
Motor North America. "We're delighted to again partner with VH1
Save The Music Foundation to support their mission to restore music
education programs in schools nationwide."
In the past four years, the #ToyotaGiving campaign has
collectively donated $160,000 to VH1
Save The Music Foundation. The funds benefit disadvantaged schools
by providing musical instruments to support sustainable music
education programs. Each campaign has culminated in a school
assembly supported by surprise appearances from musicians such as
GRAMMY Award-winning rock band Imagine Dragons, pop singer
Santigold, and urban gospel singer Sir The Baptist. As a result of
the Toyota grants, thousands of students have been able to
experience the power of making music.
"We are so grateful for Toyota's continued support for music
education," said Chiho Feindler,
Senior Director of Programs and Policy at VH1 Save The Music
Foundation. "This year's grant in Philadelphia is significant as it is a part of
our music technology pilot program. We're thrilled to be at the
historical South Philadelphia High School to provide students the
opportunity to use their creative and technical talents to make
their own music."
#ToyotaGiving campaign comes to life through Toyota's multiple
music festival activations. 2018 music festivals included
Stagecoach, Country 500, Firefly, Lollapalooza, Life is Beautiful,
and Voodoo Music + Arts Experience. Artists and festival
attendees were encouraged to take a photo within the Toyota
activation and hashtag #TOYOTAGIVING along with their message of
what music means to them. Popular artists including All Time Low,
Portugal. The Man, LAUV,
Elle King, Tinashe, Georgia
Satellites, Greta Van Fleet, PNB
Rock and more participated in the activation and shared what music
means to them.
About VH1 Save The Music Foundation:
VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a New
York 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps kids, schools, and
communities realize their full potential through the power of
making music. Founded in 1997, Save The Music partners with school
districts and raises funds to restore music programs in public
schools. Since inception, we have donated over $56 million worth of
new musical instruments to over 2,100 U.S. schools in 261 school
districts around the country– impacting the lives of millions of
students. Learn more about us and our efforts
at www.vh1savethemusic.org.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of
the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North
America for more than 60 years, and is committed to
advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota
and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a
tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class
design, engineering, and assembly of more than 38 million cars and
trucks in North America, where we
operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly
employ more than 47,000 people (more than 37,000 in the
U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in
the U.S.) sold 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the
U.S.) in 2018 – and about 87 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold
over the past 16 years are still on the road
today.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights
the way it partners with community, civic, academic and
governmental organizations to address our society's most pressing
mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move,
anything is possible. For more information about Toyota,
visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
Media Contacts:
Marissa Borjon | Toyota Motor North America
| 469-292-6395 | Marissa.borjon@toyota.com
Kimberly Harms | Saatchi & Saatchi for Toyota
| 702-234-9517 | kimberly.harms@saatchi.com
Taylor Nunez | ANTHEMIC Agency
| 541-221-3627 | taylor@anthemicagency.com
LINK TO ASSEMBLY PHOTOS:
https://lion.box.com/s/t41kctd9r25snfwszkzruzntwpqztbq4
LINK TO ASSEMBLY B-ROLL
PACKAGE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Pf2PQoM65vtQlm1XI7mylhHQlWNB10jH/view
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SOURCE Toyota