Built on Toyota’s founding principle of contributing to society, Toyota Material Handling’s community engagement initiatives remain a focal point. Through the years, salaried Associates have received 16 paid community service hours to support local charitable organizations in the communities Associates live and work. These hours were minimally used, with Associates company-wide taking advantage of about 15.5% of total hours available in 2019. Understanding the benefits the company and our people receive when engaged in volunteer and community engagement opportunities, TMH added community engagement to their annual Hoshin plan for FY21 and beyond. As part of this plan, paid community service hours were given to all Associates – including about 920 hourly Associates who receive 8 hours each fiscal year. The goal has been to provide and encourage Associates to use those hours during the typical business day and take advantage of 80% of available hours throughout the year as a company. On August 4, TMH celebrated the grand opening of its new Community Engagement Hub. The space, dedicated to community engagement and volunteering, will allow Associates to connect with the community in various ways while on the TMH campus. The Hub will house ongoing volunteer activities ranging from stuffing backpacks for students heading back to school to assembling comfort kits for military and veterans through the American Red Cross. In addition, the space will provide drop-off locations for ongoing donation drives. In helping combat food insecurity, TMH wants to do its part to aid local communities. TMH will continue to collect canned and packaged food within the Hub. They will also rotate other donation bins to serve causes like animal shelters, nursing homes, youth going into foster care, and more throughout the year. Finally, TMH will use the space to connect Associates with community organizations outside of the TMH campus. Some Associates will want to get more involved in the community, while others may need to use an organization's services. Knowing this, a community resource guide will be available within the Community Engagement Hub. The guide will contain information sheets on the organizations TMH supports, including volunteer opportunities. It will also give Associates a direct access point to the organization and connect outside of TMH. The hope is that by collecting and sharing this information, TMH can improve local communities through more volunteer and financial support and help Associates who may need it. TMH is excited to share the opening of the new Community Engagement Hub with the dealer network and encourage visitors to the TMH campus to take a moment to visit the space and maybe take part in one of the volunteer opportunities available.
Lifting the Community with a New Community Engagement Hub
