Toyota is giving a $1.5 million grant to longtime out-of-school provider the Boys & Girls Clubs to launch a nationwide effort to prep teenagers for college.
D2D, or Diplomas to Degrees, is a college-readiness initiative that was piloted in Boys & Girls Clubs in 10 cities this past year, but will now be scaled up in more than 1,000 clubs across the country with the support of the grant, according to a recent announcement.
The initiative focuses on exploration of both college and careers through mentorships, internships, visits to higher education institutions, and lessons on how to obtain financial assistance to attend college.
“Our partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs is an extension of our focus on education; a key component of the new D2D program is engaging our associates to volunteer as mentors and college coaches through their local clubs,” said Mike Groff, Toyota’s vice president of sales, marketing, and product planning in a press release. “The ultimate goal of this program is to increase the number of youth who graduate from high school and enroll in a college, university, or other postsecondary institution.”
According to the statement, Toyota has contributed more than half a billion dollars to philanthropic programs across the U.S. since 1991 and provided an additional $1 million in academic scholarships to Boys & Girls Club alumni and staff. The clubs serve around 4 million children in 4,000 sites nationally.