4-H Advances Environmental Science Education with $1.1 Million from Toyota

CHEVY CHASE, Md., May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Toyota has announced its continued support of 4H's youth-focused water quality and conservation programming with a $1.1 million gift to fund the expansion of 4H2O Community Projects and sponsor the 2011 4-H National Youth Science Day.

4-H2O Community Projects is a national environmental stewardship project currently serving California, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, New York City, Texas and West Virginia.  Through 4-H2O Community Projects, youth learn to protect and conserve freshwater resources by participating in activities such as water quality testing, watershed cleanup events and constructing rain gardens, while strengthening math and science skills.  In 2010, 4-H2O Community Projects reached more than 46,000 youth in at least 42 communities.  

"The generous and continued support of Toyota and the Toyota USA Foundation has vastly helped to strengthen and broaden 4-H's environmental science education efforts," said Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of National 4-H Council.  "Through this innovative programming, 4-H continues to develop generations of great thinkers who are ready to step up in this complex and changing world to find solutions to the problems our nation faces today."

Toyota will also join as a sponsor of the fourth-annual 4-H National Youth Science Day (NYSD).  4H's premiere rallying event, NYSD will take place this year on Oct. 5, 2011, and bring together hundreds of thousands of youth from all across the nation to simultaneously complete the 2011 National Science Experiment: Wired for Wind. This year's experiment will introduce young people all around the nation to the possibilities of using wind as a clean, widely available, and low-cost source of renewable energy. Toyota's sponsorship of this event will help to significantly raise the level of community outreach surrounding NYSD and expand the event's Web presence (www.4-H.org/NYSD).

"We are proud that in our fourth year of supporting 4-H2O we are able to continue the momentum and bring these water conservation programs to the future generation of scientists," said Pat Pineda, group vice president of philanthropy at Toyota Motor North America. "Toyota has been very pleased to partner with an organization that has such a tremendous impact on America's youth."

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE: TM) established operations in the United States in 1957 and currently operates 10 manufacturing plants, including one under construction.  Toyota directly employs nearly 30,000 in the U.S. and its investment here is currently valued at more than $18 billion, including sales and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial services and design.

Toyota is committed to being a good corporate citizen in the communities where it does business and believes in supporting programs with long-term sustainable results. Toyota supports numerous organizations across the country, focusing on education, the environment and safety. Since 1991, Toyota has contributed over half a billion dollars to philanthropic programs in the U.S.  

For more information on Toyota's commitment to improving communities nationwide, visit http://www.toyota.com/philanthropy.    

About 4-H:

4-H is a community of six million young people across America learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. National 4-H Council is the private sector, non-profit partner of 4-H National Headquarters located at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within USDA.  4-H programs are implemented by the 109 Land-Grant Universities and the Cooperative Extension System through their 3,100 local Extension offices across the country.  Learn more about 4-H at www.4-h.org or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/4-H.

SOURCE National 4-H Council