LOUISVILLE, Kentucky, May 3, 2016 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — A national two-generation family learning program that aims to provide a solution to the educational challenges facing low-income and ethnically diverse families has expanded from 10 to 15 communities. The following organizations were each awarded a $175,000 grant from Toyota and the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) to launch Toyota Family Learning:

• Village of Promise, Huntsville, Ala.
• Broward County Public Schools, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
• Public Education Foundation, Las Vegas
• Louisville Free Public Library Foundation, Louisville, Ky.
• Plano Independent School District, Plano, Texas

These cities join programs in Bronx, N.Y.; Cincinnati; Denver; Detroit; Houston; Lincoln, Neb.; Milwaukee; Providence, R.I.; San Mateo, Calif.; and San Pedro, Calif. An end goal to the initiative is to strengthen communities by providing opportunities for participants to both learn together and serve their communities.

Toyota Family Learning is a forward-thinking, four-part approach to two-generation learning. Key areas include: Parent and Child Together (PACT) Time® that focuses on parents and children learning together; parents learning together; family to family mentoring; and, Family Service Learning projects in the community.

Sara Aguirre joined Toyota Family Learning in Louisville with the hope that it will start her on a path to find a better job and improve her family’s quality of life by helping her get her GED® certificate and apply to college. She is learning more English and is relying less on her children to translate.

“My three children and I love PACT Time®,” Aguirre said. “Spending that time together is priceless. I know I am learning how to better help them with their homework. We have fun with it and are a stronger family because of it.”

An independent evaluation found that among families graduating from Toyota Family Learning programs:

• 90% of parents increased their engagement in their children’s education
• 96% of parents became better teachers to their children
• 75% of parents increased their English language skills
• 34% of parents got a better job

More information on the exponential impact of Toyota Family Learning and NCFL’s two-generation efforts is available here.

“Toyota Family Learning is elevating families and communities nationwide,” said Sharon Darling, president and founder of NCFL. “As parents are empowered through our two-generation approach to education, service learning, and technology training, they are able to engage with their children and form a stronger bond.”

This year, NCFL and Toyota celebrate 25 years of partnership. Since 1991, more than 2 million families across the country have been impacted by programs developed by NCFL – a pioneer in the concept of families learning and serving together to raise literacy levels and improve communities. Toyota has invested more than $46 million to fund two-generation family literacy programs at more than 280 sites in 55 communities and 31 states.

“Toyota is proud to stand with NCFL through the past quarter century,” said Mike Goss, general manager, Toyota Social Innovation for Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America, Inc. “These NCFL programs help get people where they need to be by bridging the gap between classroom and lifelong learning.”

The Toyota Family Learning initiative also includes two online learning communities: Toyota Family Trails, a website that inspires families nationwide to learn through family exploration and adventure, and Family Time Machine, which encourages grantee site families to learn and thrive together.

ABOUT NATIONAL CENTER FOR FAMILIES LEARNING
The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping adults and children learn together. NCFL creates and deploys innovative programs and strategies that support learning, literacy, and family engagement in education. From the classroom to the community to the digital frontier, NCFL collaborates with educators, advocates, and policy-makers to help families construct hotspots for learning wherever they go. For more information on NCFL’s 27-year track record, visit www.familieslearning.org.

ABOUT TOYOTA
Toyota (NYSE: TM), the world’s top automaker and creator of the Prius and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we’ve built more than 30 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 44,000 people (more than 34,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.5 million in the U.S.) in 2015 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today.

Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment. As part of this commitment, we share the company’s extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

Media Contacts
Lisa Avetisian
National Center for Families Learning
[email protected]
502-718-2725

Ashley Brauer
Guthrie/Mayes Public Relations, for NCFL
[email protected]
502-649-3205

Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160503/362973 

Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160503/362917LOGO

Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160503/362916LOGO