We talk about cars a lot, which makes since, ya know, this is a car blog and everything. But once in a while it’s nice to be given the opportunity to take our conversation away from the steering wheel once in a while and drive more towards some things automakers like Toyota are doing outside of manufacturing plants. There’s a philanthropic side to Toyota, and one way they’re helping make the world a better place is by awarding huge grants to science teachers all across the country.
It’s something that the automaker has been doing for over two decades, and to date that has meant over $10 million being awarded to science teachers in all fifty states. The program, called TAPESTRY, recently got renewed and was awarded $500,000 to give out to teachers in 2011. In order to be considered for the money, all a teacher has to do is write the grant and prove that they’re doing something both creative and excellent in their classrooms.
It sounds easy enough, especially since teachers are a creative and excellent group of people by nature, but coming up with projects and curriculums that truly challenge students and leave a lasting influence on the world outside of school isn’t a particularly easy thing. Past winners have taken home $10,000 grants for things like the development of biodiesel fuels (yes, on a high school level) and research for the increase of food production in urban farms.
People always are saying that kids can make a difference, but the truth of the matter is that they can only really make a difference if they’ve got the funding. In a world where that money is harder and harder to come by with state budget cuts, grants like the ones Toyota are offering are more and more important. They’re doing great work, even when they aren’t making great cars.
And if you’re a Lake Worth used car dealer, you can appreciate something like this, too, if only for the positive publicity the parent company gets for their positive efforts. This is one of those situations where literally everybody involved wins, but mostly it’s about the kids. It’s always about the kids, right?
