TUPELO, Miss- More than 200 Toyota Mississippi employees put assembling Corollas on hold for a week and joined Santa's ranks to bring holiday goodwill and cheer to the region.
The Blue Springs automaker had a scheduled production pause during the week of December 19 and took the opportunity to deploy a portion of its workforce into the community - on company time - to volunteer for various organizations' projects and initiatives.
'When we're not building the world's best-selling vehicle, we're building communities,' said Tiffannie Hedin, corporate communication manger for Toyota Mississippi. 'Using this non-production time to get back into the community and work alongside our partners for the betterment of our region is a privilege and something our team values highly.'
From building homes to delivering meals and even ringing the iconic Salvation Army bells, Toyota team members covered territory in two counties and supported seven different organization with sweat equity. What's more, Toyota Mississippi also awarded surprise grants to every organization where its volunteers worked and a dozen others totaling $171,000.
And the numbers really stacked up. In total for the week, Toyota and its 247 employees donated just shy of 3,000 hours during the three-day volunteer event. That equates to the time it takes to build nearly 2,000 Corollas. Those impacted by Toyota's mobilized efforts are:
Volunteer Organizations:
Union County Good Samaritan
The Salvation Army of Tupelo
Traceway Retirement Community
Lawhorn Elementary School
Keep Tupelo Beautiful
Tupelo Humane Society
Northeast Mississippi Habitat for Humanity
Grant Awards:
Wear it Well - $10,000
Pontotoc Habitat for Humanity - $15,000
MS Children's Museum - $14,000
Tupelo JA - $15,000
MS Council on Economic Education - $5,000
Itawamba Co. Pratt Memorial Library - $14,000
Union Co. Historical Society - $5,000
Salvation Army - $10,000 + 1,200 toys
Union Co. Development Association - $5,500
Meals on Wheels of Lee County - $40,000
7 Days for the Troops - $20,000
Crossroads Ranch $5,000
NEMS Habitat for Humanity - $5,000
Committee for King - $2,500
Lawhorn Elementary - $1,000
Senatobia Tate County Vocational Center - $1,000
Calhoun County School District - $1,000
New Albany City Schools - $1,000
North Pontotoc Choir - $1,000
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About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 39,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 32 million cars and trucks at our nine manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota's 10th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, a quarter of the company's 2021 U.S. sales were electrified.
To help inspire the next generation for a career in STEM-based fields, including mobility, Toyota launched its virtual education hub at www.TourToyota.com with an immersive experience and chance to virtually visit many of our U.S. manufacturing facilities. The hub also includes a series of free STEM-based lessons and curriculum through Toyota USA Foundation partners, virtual field trips and more. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Tiffannie Hedin
812-664-9104
tiffannie.hedin@toyota.com
TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION 
