Toyota Canada announces $100,000 donation to StopGap Foundation
By: Funk's Toyota | 27 Nov 2019
On behalf of Toyota Canada, we are pleased to share the following national community investment update with you:
Toyota Canada announces $100,000 donation to StopGap Foundation
Inclusion through physical accessibility becomes a new focus for TCI’s community investment program
Yesterday, Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) announced a new national partnership with StopGap Foundation. A $100,000 donation from TCI will support the development and growth of StopGap’s national School Project as well as its other important awareness-raising programs in communities across Canada.
What is StopGap Foundation? What do they do?
StopGap Foundation is a registered Canadian charity that is raising awareness about the importance of accessibility and inclusion. The Foundation’s School Project, Community Ramp Project and Corporate Teambuilding program help ensure that our society’s collective understanding, about how barriers to access hold so many people back from reaching their full potential, continues to advance and grow.
StopGap provides brightly coloured ramps to business owners across Canada to help them overcome what Executive Director and Co-Founder Luke Anderson calls the “one-step problem” – a single step outside a business that makes the entire building inaccessible to many people who use mobility aids.
The deployable custom wooden ramps - painted in bright colours to attract attention and build awareness - allow easier access for those who use mobility aids and anyone else who finds a stepped entryway challenging, including the elderly, parents with strollers and couriers. The simple-yet-impactful ramps help highlight the value of having a storefront that everyone can access and get communities thinking about great solutions to accessibility issues affecting so many Canadians.
“We will all experience a shift in the way we move, whether it’s becoming a parent, sustaining an injury, a job requirement, or simply aging,” Anderson says. “At some point in our lives, we will need to rely on a barrier-free amenity, so it’s important that our world is designed and built to accommodate these shifts to maximize independence and spontaneity.”
Why is TCI supporting StopGap? What’s the connection to our business?
The partnership with Toyota Canada, now one of StopGap’s top funders, is rooted in shared values. Toyota’s vision of becoming a global mobility company is underpinned by the company’s commitment to creating a more inclusive society where everyone has access to mobility.
The support from Toyota will elevate StopGap Foundation’s impact and reach even more communities across Canada. Growing the School Project will also support the growth of the Community Ramp Project to create more barrier-free spaces, all while sparking an important dialogue to inspire a shift in the way Canadians think about disability and address accessibility challenges.
“StopGap is a visionary organization that, by implementing a simple yet highly effective solution, has opened up hundreds of businesses across the country to people living with a disability or limited mobility,” said Stephen Beatty, Vice President, Corporate, TCI. “Toyota Canada applauds StopGap’s important leadership in this space, and we look forward to joining them in their mission to make the world more inclusive through physical accessibility.”
For more information about StopGap Foundation and its work, please watch the following short videos:
