Toyota Signs Agreement to Become Global Partner of Special Olympics

TOYOTA CITY, Japan, Nov. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Special Olympics International to become a Global Partner.

The announcement was marked by a signing ceremony at the Tokyo office of Toyota, attended by Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver, Toyota President Akio Toyoda, Special Olympics Nippon President and CEO Yuko Arimori and athletes and families participating in Special Olympics.

Through sports, health, school and youth engagement, the Special Olympics Movement dramatically transforms lives by unifying people with and without intellectual disabilities to end discrimination and create inclusion. The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community. Special Olympics (headquartered in Washington D.C.) has 5.7 million athletes in 172 countries and regions.

In addition to the Global Partnership with Special Olympics, Toyota has agreed to support Special Olympics Unified Sports which joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding. Beginning in 2018, Toyota will be supporting Special Olympics Unified Sports programming primarily in Japan and the United States.

Toyota has been a national partner of Special Olympics Nippon since January 2016. Toyota employees have been actively engaged in volunteering and supporting Special Olympics Nippon's local events and its National Games.

In addition, Toyota's affiliates have been supporting Special Olympics United States-based Programs for several years as well as the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles.

The designation details of the sponsorship are as follows:

    --  Global Gold Partner (2018-2022)
    --  Global Unified Sports Partner (2018-2020)
    --  Unified Cup Partner (July 17-21, 2018 in Chicago)

Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver said the following about this partnership:

"The Special Olympics movement could not be more thrilled that Toyota is partnering with us to bring the power and joy of Special Olympics Unified Sports to more people. It is when people can play and compete together - no matter their ability, race, culture, religion or background - that lines of division are erased. We thank Toyota for their support in helping us continue our charge to create inclusive communities around the world through sport."

President Akio Toyoda said: "We would like to thank everyone involved in Special Olympics, including Chairman Timothy Shriver, for accepting Toyota as a Global Partner. From my own experience playing sports in my school days, I believe in the power of sports where people with various characters can come together and compete for the same goal. This leads to creating a society where people have respect for each other. Unified Sports further achieves this goal. The Toyota members who are involved in Special Olympics all love and believe in sports. Working together with the athletes, we would like to contribute to building recognition of the appeal of Special Olympics to as many people as possible.

Toyota has recently announced a Global Corporate Initiative, "Start Your Impossible", and will promote Special Olympic activities in parallel.

On November 18, at a B League basketball game between Alvark Tokyo and Levanga Hokkaido at the Arena Tachikawa Tachihi, Toyota will hold a Unified Sports demonstration and signing ceremony in order to invigorate Special Olympics in Japan even further. Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver and Special Olympics Board Director Dikembe Mutombo will attend and join the celebration of diversity and inclusion.

About Special Olympics:
Special Olympics is a global movement that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports, every day around the world. We empower people with intellectual disabilities to become included and valued members of their communities, which leads to a more respectful and inclusive society for all. Using sports as the catalyst and programming around health and education, Special Olympics is fighting inactivity, injustice and intolerance. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics movement has grown to more than 5.7 million athletes and Unified partners in 172 countries. With the support of more than 1 million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics delivers 32 Olympic-type sports and over 108,000 games and competitions throughout the year. Special Olympics is supported by individuals, foundations and partners. Click here for a full list of partners. Engage with us on: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and our blog on Medium.

    CONTACT: Caroline Chevat                                  Leigh Anne

             Special Olympics International                   Toyota Motor North America, Inc.

                                            +1 (202) 628-3630                                  +1 (469) 292-5849

             media@specialolympics.org                        leigh.sessions@toyota.com

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SOURCE Special Olympics