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.
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SOURCE National Center for Families Learning