Toyota Canada Invests $100,000 in Disability Education
The StopGap Foundation announced on Thursday during its big annual fundraising event that it had struck a partnership with Toyota Canada. The Japanese automaker is donating $100,000 to support the development of the StopGap School Project, which centers around education about disability, accessibility, and inclusion at the elementary school level.
Toyota Canada says the partnership is “rooted in shared values” as the company’s vision has evolved beyond merely selling cars. Toyota intends to become a global mobility company and has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to create a society where everyone, from the elderly to the disabled, has access to mobility.
“We will all experience a shift in the way we move, whether it’s becoming a parent, sustaining an injury, a job requirement, or simply aging,” said Luke Anderson, StopGap Foundation Executive Director and Co-Founder. “At some point in our lives, we will need to rely on a barrier-free amenity, so it’s important that our world is designed and built to accommodate these shifts to maximize independence and spontaneity.”
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The StopGap Foundation’s School Project, as well as its Community Ramp Project and Corporate Teambuilding program, are all concerned with growing society’s collective understanding of how barriers to access prevent many people from reaching their full potentials.
The organization provides uniquely recognizable, brightly-colored custom wooden ramps to business owners across Canada, to allow easier access for people who use mobility aids or who would simply find stepped entryways challenging, such as couriers, the elderly, and parents with strollers.
“StopGap is a visionary organization that, by implementing a simple yet highly effective solution, has opened up hundreds of businesses across the country to people living with a disability or limited mobility,” said Toyota Canada’s corporate vice president, Stephen Beatty. “Toyota Canada applauds StopGap’s important leadership in this space, and we look forward to joining them in their mission to make the world more inclusive through physical accessibility.”
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