Toyota’s Community Service Announcement Targets Hardest Hit Communities In Fight Against COVID-19

Statistics show that COVID-19 disproportionately impacts African American and Hispanic communities in the U.S.

High-profile celebrities including Anthony Anderson, Cedric The Entertainer and Lupita Infante share message on taking precautions, steps on prevention

PLANO, Texas (April 23, 2020) – As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the lives of millions of Americans from rural towns to cities, Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) has created a Community Service Announcement (CSA) to bring awareness and credible information to the African American and Hispanic communities around the country which are among the hardest hit by the virus.

Titled #UsAgainstCOVID, the CSA, featuring a number of high-profile African American and Hispanic celebrities including Anthony Anderson, Cedric The Entertainer and Lupita Infante, aims to help these affected communities understand the risks, share steps on how to avoid contracting the virus and direct them to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) web site for more information.

“With the aim of giving back to the American communities in which we operate, we partnered with high-profile celebrities to bring an important prevention message to communities of color that have been disproportionately impacted by this deadly virus,” said Chris Reynolds, chief administrative officer, Manufacturing and Corporate Resources for TMNA. “We moved quickly to make this CSA and are hopeful it will make a meaningful impact in the communities hardest hit by the COVID pandemic. We’re all in this together and we must work together to regain the health of our country, no matter where we live.”

The CSA debuted on BET’s social channels during their Saving Our Selves (S.O.S.): A BET COVID-19 Relief Fund Effort broadcast last evening and will continue to run on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other digital channels through May 6. This CSA includes videos in 60-second and 30-second formats in both English and Spanish.

According to CDC data, African Americans were hospitalized at higher rates than whites for COVID-19. Several states also released their own data showing that African Americans are dying at disproportional rates from COVID-19. And in some major cities, more Hispanics per capita are succumbing to the illness than any other ethnic group.

[source: https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2020/minority-communities-covid-19.html]

CDC guidelines on how to protect yourself as well as others are available on the CDC’s site at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus

For more on how Toyota is responding to the pandemic and for a complete list of actions and donations click on the following link:

https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-we-are-here-for-you-toyotas-response-to-the-covid-19-crisis/

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 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.7 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

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.

Leigh Anne Sessions
424-488-4200

Victor Vanov
859-801-2592