OUR COMPANY

June 10, 2009 - Torrance, CA - Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., (TMS) is rewarding 100 high school seniors with $1 million in college scholarships for their commitment to education and community service.

The 12 national and 88 regional winners, who make up the 13th class of Toyota Community Scholars, were chosen from a pool of more than 8,000 students nationwide nominated by their schools. To be eligible, students must be proven leaders both in the classroom and in their communities.

Based on their achievements, the 2009 class will continue helping others on their journey as college students. "I know that I will only find happiness and fulfillment in my life by dedicating my time to something meaningful - something that makes a difference in the world, in mankind, or in somebody’s life," said Scholar Ethan Soodak of Silver Spring, Md.

For the 2009 class, their contributions to the global community are far reaching and range from raising $1.5 million for the eradication of neurological disease, to providing medical and educational resources for over 4,000 orphans in Southern Asia.

"In these tough economic times, it is particularly rewarding to see these students having such a tremendous impact in their communities," said Michael Rouse, TMS vice president of philanthropy and community affairs.  "They are stellar examples of service and commitment and remind us all what's really important."

Valued at $20,000 each for national winners, and $10,000 for regional, the scholarships are awarded over four years beginning in the fall of 2009 for study at a four-year college or university. Since the Toyota Community Scholars program began in 1997, TMS has awarded over $14 million in scholarships to 1,300 students across the U.S.

Jourdan Urbach, a Toyota Community Scholar from Roslyn Heights, NY, demonstrates the dedication to community service by the members of this year’s class. As the founder of Children Helping Children (CHC), Urbach established Concerts for a Cure to utilize his gift as a talented violinist to raise $1.5 million in the fight against neurological disease. CHC funds provide materials for music therapy in pediatric playrooms, medical equipment, home healthcare for patients with advanced disease and grants for cutting edge neurological research.

Determined to create a "youthquake" across the globe by putting a face on philanthropy in healthcare, Urbach has encouraged 700 young musicians to get involved in this international movement.

"I have learned through my years of service that there is no age limit for doing something extraordinary for humanity," says the scholar. "My dream is to see symphony orchestras and young soloists working together in every city around the world, raising funds and awareness to cure neurological disease through their art."

The national and regional winners were selected by a panel of college and university admissions officials from across the U.S. The Toyota Community Scholars program is administered by Educational Testing Services in Princeton, N.J.

About Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. is the marketing, sales, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion.  Established in 1957, TMS markets products and services through a network of more than 1,400 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers.  Toyota directly employs more than 34,000 people in the U.S. and sold more than 2.2 million vehicles in 2008.

NOTE:

*A list of Toyota Community Scholars is attached.
*A "snapshot" of specific community service projects is attached.
*Upon request, digital photographs of individual Scholars can be sent electronically.
Please e-mail request to: tisha@tobinpr.com

 

			CITY                                       HIGH SCHOOL
ALABAMA
Wade Ash			Atmore		Escambia Academy
ARIZONA
Grace Do			Chandler		Corona Del Sol High School
ARKANSAS
Cody Hooks			Little Rock		Wilbur D Mills Univ Studies HS
CALIFORNIA
Nicholas Davis			Fresno		Clovis West High School
Trevor Geller			Foothill Ranch		Trabuco Hills High School
Preeya Goyal			Temecula		Great Oak High School
Tavish Nanda*			Alamo		Monte Vista High School
Harleen Sethi			Modesto		Fred C Beyer High School
Ann Wang*			Rancho Cucamonga		Los Osos High School
Frankie Wong			Artesia		Gretchen Whitney High School
Connie Wu			Cupertino		Monta Vista High School
COLORADO
Rachel Buchmeier			Loveland		Loveland High School
Sarah Linke*			Castle Rock		Rock Canyon High School
DELAWARE
Rebecca Godwin			Milford		Milford Senior High School
FLORIDA
Alexis Dempsey			Wesley Chapel		Berkeley  Preparatory
Tura Magley			Bradenton		Manatee High School
Samuel Morales			West Palm Beach		Cardinal Newman High School
Rohit Thummalapalli			Hialeah		American Heritage Sch Plantatn
Andrew Zarzeski			Lutz		Freedom High School
GEORGIA
Melissa Adams			Cumming		South Forsyth High School
HAWAII
Kimberly Lee			Honolulu		Punahou School
ILLINOIS
Kathleen Leinweber			Woodstock		Woodstock High School
Kevin McDermott			Burr Ridge		Lyons Township HS N Campus
Gabrielle Vanspeybroeck			East Moline		United Township High School
INDIANA
Erin Biel			Carmel		Park Tudor School
Taylor Sanders			Bedford		Bedford –North Lawrence HS
IOWA
Jeralyn Westercamp			Cedar Rapids		John F. Kennedy High School
KANSAS
Melissa Mckittrick			Mission Hills		Shawnee Mission East High
Dakota Meyers			Hoisington		Hoisington High School
KENTUCKY
Joseph Konerman			Edgewood		Saint Xavier High School
Katherine Lutes			Union		Larry A. Ryle High School
Sarah Rudolph			Paducah		Paducah Tilghman High Schoo
LOUISIANA
Raven Hollins			Bastrop		Bastrop High School
Seena Khosravi			Baton Rouge		Baton Rouge Magnet High
David Rudd			Deridder		Deridder High School
MARYLAND
Peter Andes			Berlin		Stephen Decatur High School
Ethan Soodak*			Silver Spring		James Hubert Blake High
Sitara Weerasuriya			Olney		Sherwood High School
MASSACHUSETTS
Emily Cunningham			Weymouth		Cardinal Spellman High School
Anokhee Mepani			Westwood		Westwood High School
MICHIGAN
Hemant Gandhi*			Okemos		Okemos High School
Emily Hsiao			Ann Arbor		Huron High School
Kathryn Vanham			Richmond		Richmond High School
MINNESOTA
Ashlee Kephart*			Brooklyn Center		Park Center Senior High Schoo
Derek Rood			Pequot Lakes		Pequot Lakes High School
Chantal Wilson			Greenbush		Greenbush Middle River HS
MISSOURI
Samuel Pelts			Warrenton		Warren County R-III Senior
Allison Pettit			Aurora		Aurora R-VIII High School
MONTANA
Kelsey Cable			Saint Ignatius		St. Ignatius High School
NEBRASKA
Tyler Gifford			Harrisburg		Banner County Schools
Danika Young			Atkinson		West Holt High School
Daniel Zhou			Lincoln		Lincoln Southwest High School
NEVADA
Melanie Malinas			Reno		The Davidson Academy of NV
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Nicholas Letizio			Windham		Salem High School
NEW JERSEY
Katherine Adams			Rumson		Ranney School
Matthew Certner			Morristown		Morristown High School
Molly Roy			Moorestown		Moorestown High School
Marisa Sanders			Hackettstown		Hackettstown High School
NEW MEXICO
Shelby Gonzales			Maxwell		Maxwell High School
NEW YORK
Mariam Braimah			Hauppauge		Hauppauge High School
Eugenia Gurvich			Hawthorne		Westlake High School
Noah Sheinbaum			Chappaqua		Horace Greeley High School
Sujay Tyle			Pittsford		Pittsford Mendon High School
Jourdan Urbach*			Roslyn Heights		Roslyn High School
Alexa Zahl			New York		Horace Mann School
NORTH CAROLINA
Michael Atkins			Pikeville		Charles Baycock High School
Julie Crimmins			Chapel Hill		Chapel Hill High School
Milan Kantesaria			Fayetteville		Fayetteville Academy
John Turner			Raleigh		Middle Creek High School
OHIO
Andrew Schultze			Kettering		Kettering High School
OKLAHOMA
Lashun Oakley			Ada		Latta High School
Emily Sanders			Oklahoma City		Western Heights High School
OMAN
Sahar Khan*			Muscat		American British Academy
PENNSYLVANIA
Rebecca Adelsheim			Pittsburgh		Ellis School
James Creeley			Williamsport		Saint John Neumann Regional
Alison Geesey			Spring Mills		Penns Valley Area Jr-Sr HS
Vinay Trivedi			Newton		Princeton Day High School
SOUTH CAROLINA
Melanie Zhao			Florence		West Florence High School
SOUTH DAKOTA
Emily Sperry*			Bath		Roncalli High School
TENNESSEE
Tiffany Carpenter			Thompsons Station		Independence High School
John Loehle			Wartrace		Tullahoma High School
Lauren Lyke			Strawberry Plains		Jefferson County High School
TEXAS
Molly Dudensing			Sagerton		Rule High School
Bonnie Duncan			San Benito		San Benito High School
Julie England			Winters		Winters High School
Tyler Folse			Houston		Saint Thomas Episcopal
Patrick Foster			Sachse		Sachse High School
Aditya Kumar			Stafford		Stafford High School
Alexa Sassin			Houston		Saint John’s High School
Jordan Sessler*			Austin		Liberal Arts and Science Aca.
UTAH
Bradley Jencks			South Jordan		Bingham High School
VERMONT
Chris Appleton*			Barre		Spaulding High School
VIRGINIA
David Ramish			Vienna		Thomas Jefferson HS Sci/Tec
WASHINGTON
Brenna Fallon			Seattle		Seattle Preparatory High School
Lauren Kuhn			Aberdeen		Weatherwax (Aberdeen) HS
Stephanie Nicholson			Camas		Camas Senior High School
Misbah Uraizee			Bellevue		Sammamish High School
Brian Vance*			Yakima		Selah High School
WISCONSIN
Emily Jordan			Black River Falls		Black River Falls High School
Natalia Thompson			Madison		West High School

2009 TOYOTA COMMUNITY SCHOLARS

Community Service Snapshots

Following is a sampling of community-service projects performed by the 2009 class of Toyota Community Scholars (more detail can be provided upon request; student interviews can also be arranged).

• Founded Children Helping Children (CHC), a musical charity foundation which raises funds through Concerts for a Cure for hospitals, research and international medical organizations targeting neurological disease. The award-winning concert violinist has raised 1.5 million performing at numerous benefit concert venues including Carnegie Hall. He has encouraged 700 young musicians to spearhead CHC satellite chapters across the nation with the common goal of saving lives through music. (Jourdan Urbach, Roslyn Heights, NY)
• Personally inspired by the passing of his grandfather, this Scholar established SeniorLink to familiarize nursing home residents with computers, while reaping the benefits of keeping their minds active and alert. SeniorLink refurbishes donated computers and distributes them to senior centers in Bucks County and northern New Jersey. Since its inception, the organization has collected more than 75 computers and also hosts weekly hands-on and user-friendly skill-building sessions for seniors. (Vinay Trivedi, Newtown, Penn.)

• Forever changed by touching stories from orphans while traveling to Asia, this Scholar created Foundations for Joy to improve the lives of orphans in Southern Asia. Providing necessities such as food, water, shelter, medical care, educational resources and vocational training, the organization distributed $65,000 worth of aid to 4,042 children in 2008. Foundations for Joy works with 37 different orphanages, has raised a total of approximately $100,000 and is also working to provide permanent, reliable sources of electricity to orphanages in Sri Lanka through the installation of solar generators. (Jordan Sessler, Austin, TX)
• Founded CarbonNeutralVolunteers.org (CNV), which is dedicated to raising global awareness on climate change and promoting green lifestyle changes through an innovative concept of volunteer carbon credits. Raised $20,000 for solar ovens in Tanzania and solar water heaters at Michigan-based Okemos High School and a hospital in Peru. This student’s group has also sold hundreds of CFL bulbs during door-to-door drives. Having represented CNV at several global events, his goal is to nurture a new generation of climate leaders. (Hemant Gandhi, Okemos, Mich.)
• Beginning as an Eagle Scout service project, this Scholar went the extra mile to identify thousands of unrecorded gravesites at a local ghost town cemetery. Organizing over 2,000 volunteers, his team restored grave markers, installed headstones, identified 1,100 unknown burials in a 1,500 page cemetery book, established a wall of honor for 1,825 individuals, created an information center, fence, road and monument dedicated to honor veterans from 6 wars. He helped to raise $50,000 in relation to the project and produced documentaries for The History Channel and Roots Television. Research was donated to libraries, the State Historical Society and free websites to connect people with their living relatives and heritage. (Bradley Jencks, South Jordan, UT)

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