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Toyota Helps Detroit with $1 Million Donation

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Toyota helps Detroit

Toyota helps Detroit: Toyota’s Simon Nagata (right) and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder

The city of Detroit isn’t doing so well. The once-affluent Michigan city is in tatters, with unemployment at 14.5% as of April 2014, and residents fleeing the city for more prosperous areas. While the economic downturn was hard on the entire country, cities like Detroit were hit the hardest. In fact, things were so bad that Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy in mid-2013, making history as the largest US city ever to do so. As part of this bankruptcy, the city talked about selling off collections housed at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). Back in June of this year, the Big Three began making donations to help save the city and its art. Now, Toyota is joining GM, Chrysler, and Ford by donating $1 million to help save the collections at the DIA.


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The DIA has made a commitment to raise a total of $100 million to help pull the City of Detroit from bankruptcy. With donations like Toyota’s, the institute gets closer to its goal, and things start to look up for the city. Retired city workers who are currently worried about whether or not they will continue to get their monthly payouts from their pensions will benefit from more than $800 million from the DIA, local and national foundations, and the State of Michigan for a total of 20 years, due largely in part to generous contributions like Toyota’s.

“Detroit and the surrounding areas are vitally important to the automotive community. They deserve our support,” commented Simon Nagata, president of Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing, Inc.  “Together we can find solutions to help Detroit become the healthy and vibrant community that reflects the spirit of its people. This commitment is a way to demonstrate our gratitude to the people who have built this industry and support us every day.”


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