Mazda Foundation Awards $450,000 to Food Banks and Education Programs
Every year, the Mazda Foundation gives grants to organizations dedicated to helping Americans. This year, it awarded $450,000 to four organizations that serve the communities where the manufacturer operates: in Southern California, where its headquarters are located, and in the greater Huntsville, Alabama, area, where it is developing a new $2.3-billion facility with Toyota.
The organizations awarded grants include the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County in Irvine, California, and the Food Bank of North Alabama in Madison, Alabama. The other two grants will fund education programs via FUSE Studio, based in Southern California, and AVID Center, based in Madison. Mazda says these grants will not only help address the result of poverty but also some of its causes.
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“The awards we’re announcing today address challenges that too many Americans face,” said Jeff Guyton, president of Mazda North American Operations and chairman of the Mazda Foundation. “Those challenges range from basic food security to equal access to the building blocks of education. Everyone needs these fundamentals in order to thrive.”
The donations to the food banks are more needed than ever. According to the automaker, demand for food for families has grown 60 percent since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused a global shutdown. The grants aim to increase the delivery of food to these families.
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The awards to AVID Center and FUSE Studio will meanwhile help students get the assistance they need to succeed in school. AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is a nonprofit that aims to prepare Alabama students for college with career ideas, academic guidance, and study skills. FUSE is a nonprofit that brings STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) learning to underserved middle schools.
Since 1992, the Mazda Foundation has donated nearly $14 million to help fund education projects, environmental conservation programs, food banks, disaster relief efforts, and children’s organizations.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.