Toyota and National Center for Families Learning Announce Third Round of Toyota Family Learning Grants

LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 21, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Toyota and the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) are now welcoming community programs across the nation to submit initial applications for the prestigious Toyota Family Learning grants, which recognize innovation in engaging families in learning, community service, and mentoring. 

The three-year, $175,000 grants are a part of Toyota Family Learning's pioneering movement to provide opportunities for children and parents to learn together by funding new Family Service Learning and mentor programs. Five organizations will be awarded a grant, in addition to a wide range of NCFL training, communication and technical support, and materials that support families learning together.

Grants awarded in 2015 will extend Toyota Family Learning's grantee footprint to 15 communities. The first two rounds of grantees included school systems, libraries, and community-based organizations in nine states ranging from California to New York, and from Houston to Wisconsin. Programs have 

• Documented families working together to serve their communities, with activities that include packaging and delivering food for the homeless, organizing community events to promote safety and environmental responsibility, and establishing community-wide healthy habit campaigns;
• Completed approximately 28,000 hours of learning together as a family and as a community during the past year;
• Reported gains in participating parents' organizational skills, leadership skills, and levels of self-efficacy;
• Seen in an increase in father involvement in literacy activities with their child's school;
• Reported that families are more likely to use technology for educational purposes; and
• Reported that families are more likely to interact with their child's school.

"The biggest impact comes from the whole family committing to positive and sustained involvement in learning," said Emily Kirkpatrick, vice president of NCFL. "We're pleased with the results we've seen from the Toyota Family Learning grant recipients and are eager to expand this network through the RFP."

"Toyota's more than 20 years of partnership with NCFL has taught us that bringing parents and children together to learn works," said Mike Goss, vice president of external affairs for Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.  "We are excited to announce the third round of the Toyota Family Learning grants and proud to support programs across the country that extend learning beyond the four walls of the classroom and into homes and communities."

Schools, libraries, and other community-based organizations that provide services to families are eligible to apply. Initial applications are being accepted now through June 11 at www.toyotafamilylearning.org. Submissions will be evaluated on a number of factors, including strength of existing services, commitment from community partners, and strength and innovation of the proposal. A select group of organizations will be asked to submit full applications in June, and award recipients will be notified this summer.

In addition to the funding grants, Toyota Family Learning is committed to engaging families online, offline, and on the go with tools like Family Time Machine, a website that helps parents and kids make better use of every moment in the day. More information about Toyota Family Learning can be found here.

About the National Center for Families Learning
The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping adults and children learn together. NCFL creates and deploys innovative programs and strategies that support learning, literacy and family engagement in education. From the classroom to the community to the digital frontier, NCFL collaborates with educators, advocates and policy-makers to help families construct hotspots for learning wherever they go. For more information on NCFL's 24-year track record, visit www.familieslearning.org.

About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world's top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through its Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands.  Over the past 50 years, Toyota has built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where it operates 14 manufacturing plants and directly employs more than 40,000 people.  The company's 1,800 North American dealerships sold more than 2.5 million cars and trucks in 2013 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today. To date, Toyota has contributed more than $700 million to American nonprofit groups.  For more information about Toyota's contributions in the U.S., visit http://www.toyota.com/about.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.  

SOURCE National Center for Families Learning

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