National Arbor Day Foundation Receives Grant from Toyota Motor Corporation

01/26/01
Nebraska City, Neb., – The National Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) today announced a partnership that includes a $380,790 grant from The Toyota Foundation for use in continuing youth educational programs in tree planting.

The National Arbor Day Foundation provides environmental youth education programs, which include materials for elementary classrooms and an annual Arbor Day National Poster Contest for fifth graders. The Foundation plans to use the grant funds to enhance and expand its Poster Contest and "Grow Your Own Tree!" curriculum as well as develop and educational Arbor Day video.

“The Foundation is very excited to form this partnership with Toyota Motor Corporation,” said John Rosenow, president of The National Arbor Day Foundation. “This generous grant will help to ensure that we continue to educate future generations in the importance of environmental stewardship and planting trees.”

“We are very pleased to work with The National Arbor Day Foundation,” said Veronica Pollard, vice president of external affairs for Toyota North America. “The philosophy of the organization is a perfect complement to Toyota’s environmental beliefs and actions.”

TMC established the Toyota Environmental Activities Support Program earlier this year in commemoration of the Corporation’s receipt of the Global 500 Award in 1999 from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The program is aimed at supporting environmental improvement and conservation worldwide through promoting activities that promise to contribute to sustainable development. Under the program, grants are provided to practical projects that are rooted in local communities yet maintain global viewpoints. As one of nine organizations around the world to receive the environmental grant, The National Arbor Day Foundation is the only recipient in the United States.

Founded in 1972, The National Arbor Day Foundation is a non-profit organization established to help people plant and care for trees. The Foundation distributed eight million trees to its nearly one million members in the past year. For additional information about The National Arbor Day Foundation, write to: The National Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Avenue, Nebraska City, NE 68410, or call (402) 474-5655.

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