Staff Reports
Just under 200 Toyota associates participated in Toyota Material Handling’s first-ever Lift the Community Day on July 9, providing about 1,300 hours of service to 12 different organizations in Columbus and Seymour.
TMH also collected 54 units of blood, which will impact 162 lives, donated approximately 1,000 pounds of food to Love Chapel, and trained three new disaster action team members for the American Red Cross.
Each year, Toyota has a factory shutdown in July in which shop associates are required to use vacation time.
This year, the company decided to host a “Lift the Community” volunteer day during the shutdown. The volunteer day was open to all associates — office and shop alike.
Toyota gave office shop associates the ability to get eight paid volunteer hours by participating instead of using a day of vacation. All office associates get 16 hours of paid volunteer time each year, and this year Toyota gave shop associates eight hours of paid volunteer time.
“Toyota’s founding principle, the reason we exist, is to contribute to society,” TMH President Jeff Rufener said. “We are humbled by the opportunity to give back to many of the charitable organizations that support the communities in which we live and work every day.”
Columbus work sites
Orphan Grain Train. Associates assisted with sorting and packing clothing at the Orphan Grain Train warehouse.
Just Friends. Associates assisted with and participated in the annual July 4 cookout with clients and their families.
Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center. Associates participated in “littler sweeps” — crisscrossing alleys and streets in the neighborhood picking up litter.
Mill Race Center. Associates participated in several different projects ranging from deep cleaning, outside maintenance, and other internal projects.
Bartholomew County CISMA (Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas).Volunteers helped cut back invasive plants (especially honeysuckle).
Beloved. Volunteers assembled toiletry bags that will be placed in the duffel bag. They also had the opportunity to write thank you cards to community social workers supporting these families.
Landmark Columbus. Volunteers participated in a landscape cleanup day.
San Souci. Volunteers helped with things like donation processing, store floor stocking, organizing, and more.
Love Chapel. Volunteers helped with projects within the food pantry and homeless shelter.
American Red Cross. Volunteers trained for Disaster Action Teams. Disaster Action Team Fundamentals is a basic level, web-based or instructor-led training that provides instructions to current, new and potential members on how to perform tasks and key job duties as described by the Disaster Action Team Program Standards and Procedures.
Seymour locations
Volunteers assisted with Anchor House’s sixth annual golf outing and fundraiser.
Associates worked on various projects at the Boys & Girl Club including direct interaction with kids, landscaping, yard work, and internal organization/maintenance projects.
