Photo: Toyota
This week, Toyota Motor North America announced it had partnered with several Latino-focused nonprofit organizations to create a range of initiatives in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Toyota’s COVID-19 Response: Learn more about how the automaker is handling the pandemic
According to the Japanese automaker, more than $1 million in previously awarded funding to six of its nonprofit partners was reallocated to their COVID-19 response efforts. These include the Hispanic Federation, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, UnidosUS, and The East Los Angeles Community Union Education Foundation.
Toyota’s COVID-19 response via these organizations ranges from academic support and emergency assistance to small business support and information dissemination.
For example, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund will use the funding to provide support to K-12 students and emergency relief for families struggling with food, housing, and tuition payments. The East Los Angeles Community Union is offering comprehensive services to scholars, and meanwhile, the Hispanic Federation is providing emergency food relief to families, children, and seniors in New York.
Information has great value as well, as Toyota itself highlights in its latest campaign, which shows that the biggest victims of COVID-19 are African American and Hispanic communities. This is why UnidosUS received funding to “ensure accurate information and resources to slow the spread of COVID-19 are reaching the Latino community English and Spanish,” and why the League of United Latin American Citizens is doing something similar.
Finally, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will give technical assistance and economic relief resources to minority-owned and Hispanic small businesses that are most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. It will also connect Hispanic-owned suppliers to buyers who quickly need COVID-19 supplies such as masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer.
“Together, we can help reach more people with the critical information and resources they need,” said Al Smith, group vice president and Chief Social Innovation Officer, Toyota Motor North America. “We want our partners and communities to know that we are here for them now and beyond the crisis.”
Related: Top reasons to buy a Toyota 
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.
