Toyota Wants to Change the Way We Take Pictures for a Good Reason
Admit it: you’ve taken a “selfie” before. It’s OK. We all have at some point in our lives.
Typically, they only benefit our own egos and memory banks. If you travel to somewhere you’ve always wanted to go, a selfie is a useful way of capturing the moment for eternity.
Starting #GivingTuesday, December 1 and until January 4, Toyota is turning the selfie into something that can help other people. If you take a “selfless selfie” in which, presumably, you’re being nice or helpful and hashtag it #Selflessie on Instagram, Toyota will donate $50 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) (until the $250,000 mark is reached). Through its more than 4,100 clubs, the BGCA annually provides almost 4 million young people “a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun, friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles,” according to the organization.
As it has since 2010, Toyota will give the BGCA’s National Youth of the Year winner a new Corolla and money to cover related ownership expenses as a prize for their leadership, academic success, and positive behavior. That car should come in handy in getting them to college, where they can use the $25,000 renewable scholarship that comes alongside the Corolla.
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PRESS RELEASE
Toyota Places a Charitable Spin on the Traditional Selfie with New Campaign – #Selflessie
Holiday Campaign to Benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of America
December 02, 2015
LOS ANGELES (Dec. 2, 2015) – Toyota launches a new initiative, #Selflessie, which encourages Instagram users to ditch their typical selfie snapshots in favor of posting a “selfless selfie.” Kicking off on #GivingTuesday, and continuing through January 4, every photo hashtagged on Instagram with #Selflessie will trigger a $50 donation from Toyota to Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), up to $250,000.
The #Selfie, a cultural phenomenon, ranks amongst the most popular hashtags on social media with over 1 million posts each day. Celebrities including Kelly Rowland, Debby Ryan and Paul Wesley are helping Toyota spread the positive message of selflessness this holiday season.
“We have become a society of photo sharers, and one of the most popular photography styles is the selfie,” said Jason Schragger, Chief Creative Officer, Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles. “We take them to show off or simply to capture life’s most memorable moments. By co-opting this behavior, and flipping it, creating a powerful agent of positivity and selflessness this holiday season, #Selflessie can turn this activity into something truly meaningful.”
#Selflessie is timed in conjunction with this December’s Toyotathon sales event. In years past, Toyota has made it a priority to give back during this time, previously developing, “Give a Click for Charity,” benefiting BGCA, “Prius Toy Drive,” serving Toys for Tots, and “Buckle Up For Life,” a national program Toyota created with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center that provides free child car seats to families in need.
“We continuously seek new and exciting ways to transform ideas into action while bringing the ‘Toyota Way’ principles – Respect for People and Continuous Improvement – to life. Supporting BGCA lends us the perfect opportunity to inspire the next generation of engineers, thinkers, and leaders who will help drive the American economy,” said Jack Hollis, Group Vice President, Marketing, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.
Toyota team members at all levels of the organization are active volunteers with the Clubs, including Toyota Financial Services President & CEO, Mike Groff, who serves on the Board of Trustees for Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
As the Signature Sponsor of the Youth of the Year program, Toyota is committed to collaborating, investing and elevating BGCA’s industry-leading youth leadership platform. In addition to their Youth of the Year program sponsorship, Toyota has provided a brand new Corolla to the National Youth of the Year winner since 2010, along with financial support to offset the costs of automobile ownership.
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 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 42,000 people (more than 33,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.67 million cars and trucks (more than 2.35 million in the U.S.) in 2014 – 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.
About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (GreatFutures.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, more than 4,100 Clubs serve nearly 4 million young people annually through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun, friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at Facebook and Twitter.
via [Toyota]
photos [Toyota]
