The Wildlife Center of Virginia is one of 250 finalists in Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program, which will award vehicles to 100 nonprofit organizations based on votes from the public beginning Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program will showcase five nonprofit organizations each day for 50 days at Facebook.com/Toyota. Visitors to the page will receive two votes each day to select two separate winning organizations they feel are most deserving of new Toyota vehicles. The Wildlife Center will be one of the five organizations highlighted for voting on Tuesday, October 1.
Local residents are encouraged to support the Wildlife Center in the quest for a new Toyota Sienna. If the Wildlife Center receives the most votes and is awarded the vehicle, it will be used to support the Center’s life-saving work as a veterinary hospital and education center. For example, the new Toyota will be used to transport outreach staff – and education animals – to programs and events throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. These non-releasable animals – typically an opossum, a reptile [turtle or snake], or a raptor [falcon, hawk, or owl] – make life-changing impressions on audiences of all ages and are the key to highlighting the steps that each of us can take to protect wildlife.
The new Toyota would also be used to pick up a “treasure trove” of food and supplies – donated fruits and vegetables used to feed bears, opossums, rabbits, and other patients, as well as donated equipment and medical supplies.
About the Wildlife Center
The Wildlife Center of Virginia is an internationally acclaimed teaching and research hospital for wildlife and conservation medicine. Since its founding in 1982, the nonprofit Center has cared for more than 60,000 wild animals, representing 200 species of native birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. The Center’s public education programs share insights gained through the care of injured and orphaned wildlife, in hopes of reducing human damage to wildlife.
In July 2011, the Center launched Critter Cam, which has allowed wildlife enthusiasts around the world to watch a variety of Center patients. Current “stars” of Critter Cam include a record-setting 16 Black Bear cubs [Critter Cam #1]; Barn Owls or a Cooper’s Hawk [Critter Cam #2], and an Eastern Screech-Owl or Buddy, the Center’s resident Bald Eagle [Critter Cam #3]. A link to Critter Cam may be found on the Center’s homepage – www.wildlifecenter.org.
About Toyota
Toyota [NYES: TM] established operations in the United States in 1957 and currently operates 10 manufacturing plants. Toyota directly employs over 31,000 in the U.S. and its investment here is currently valued at more than $23 billion, including sales and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial services and design. Toyota is committed to being a good corporate citizen in the communities where it does business and believes in supporting programs with long-term sustainable results. Toyota supports numerous organizations across the country, focusing on education, the environment and safety. Since 1991, Toyota has contributed nearly $700 million to philanthropic programs in the U.S.
For more information on Toyota’s commitment to improving communities nationwide, visit http://www.toyota.com/philanthropy.
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