Toyota Motor North America said it will allocate $110 million toward expanding its education initiative and helping 14 communities near its U.S. operations.
Last fall, Toyota helped open a science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, elementary and middle school in Dallas. The Driving Possibilities initiative, led by the Toyota USA Foundation, will help build similar schools in other areas.
The foundation will work with local and national nonprofit organizations to help schools inside and outside the classroom, Toyota said in a statement Thursday.
“We loved this kind of holistic approach so much we decided to replicate it in our 14 U.S. communities to help our communities address a big talent pipeline gap that exists, especially in the STEM fields,” Mike Goss, president of the Toyota USA Foundation, told Automotive News.
The schools will not be exact replicas of the West Dallas one, as Toyota will work with local businesses and governments to provide what each community needs, he said.
The other communities include Buffalo, W.Va.; Hunstville, Ala.; Jackson, Tenn.; Troy, Mo.; Long Beach, Calif.; Alpharetta, Ga.; and the Ann Arbor, Mich., area, Goss said.
