Definition of ’joy’

joy

/joi/

noun

a feeling of great happiness.

For a moment, the manufacturing floor at Toyota’s Mississippi plant resembled something like Santa’s workshop. It was a scene replicated across the country, as Toyota employees came together to support a variety of causes and surprise donations delivered curbside in Toyota “joy mobiles.”

Thousands of gifts, including food donations, clothes and books, and more than $500,000 in grants were provided through Toyota manufacturing sites, office locations and Toyota Financial Services’ customer support centers in December, as part of Toyota’s Season of Giving activities.

Nationally, Toyota partnered with the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL), providing more than 85,000 books for families nationwide. And, to encourage consumers to #sharethejoy, Toyota donated to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund for every social media share on Toyota Latino’s digital “joy jar” Instagram post.

Supporting the Community

In Mississippi more than 750 employees came together to complete projects that will benefit assisted living facilities, the Salvation Army and the Mid-South Food Bank. Their efforts helped provide the following assistance for their community:

660 Christmas cards written for assisted living & nursing home residents.
200 skateboards built for Salvation Army Angel Tree
205 bicycles assembled for Salvation Army Angel Tree
2700 boxes of diapers & hygiene products repackaged for Mid-South Food Bank

Brandon Frost, Toyota Global Skill-up Trainer Team Leader, said working with fellow employees to help those in need is very important to him. “I have seen the look on parent’s faces when they are able to give their kids something they wouldn’t have otherwise had. That is really special to me.”

Highlighting Nonprofits

In celebration of the week of Joy and Toyota Alabama’s 20^th anniversary, Toyota partnered with a local media station, WAAY 31 to highlight five local nonprofits and surprise them with donations:

Mana House
Huntsville/Madison County Library
New Futures Inc.
CASA of Madison County
Fantasy Children’s Playhouse Theater

Toyota’s Business Partnering Groups (Employee Resource Groups) Add to Efforts

At Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Missouri (TMMMO) and Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Tennessee (TMMTN), Toyota’s Business Partnering Groups (BPGs) jumped into action. Women Impacting and Influencing Toyota (WIIT), Toyota’s women focused BPG, made blankets for the St. Louis Crisis Nursery in Troy, Missouri, while WIIT members in Jackson, Tennessee completed a coat drive for a local women’s shelter. At TMMTN, several BPGs including the Toyota Veteran’s Association (TVA), the African American Collaborative (AAC), and WIIT also joined forces to support a clothing and toy drive for a special family who attends the Boys and Girls Club in Jackson, Tennessee.

In addition, TMMMO is giving $100,000 in grants to celebrate the holiday season and their 30^th anniversary.

Additional Highlights

At Toyota’s Headquarters, Team Toyota donated 1,375 gifts to children and families in need
In San Antonio, Texas (TMMTX), employees helped raise funds to provide food for the San Antonio Food Bank and gifts and toys for the St. PJ’s Children’s Home.
At the Georgetown, Kentucky plant (TMMK), employees made donations to God’s Pantry to support the preparation of Thanksgiving baskets for families dealing with food insecurity. They also collected games, stuffed animals and more for their local Toys for Tots program, which helped bring smiles to children throughout their local area.
In Ann Arbor, Michigan, the TMNA Research & Development team supplied toys and food to Toys for Tots and Food Gatherers.
In the Midwest, the Princeton, Indiana plant (TMMI) supported eleven non-profit organizations with gifts, food and coats for kids.
Toyota Financial Services’ customer support centers held gift drives for the holidays.

Everyday Toyota employees work together to push themselves and others in their communities beyond the impossible. And this holiday season is no different as Toyota continues to spread joy by supporting children and families nationwide.