Toyota to Donate Vehicles to Local Nonprofit Organizations
Based on Public Votes
The Wildlife Center of Virginia is one
of 250 finalists in Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program, which will award
vehicles to 100 nonprofit organizations based on votes from the public beginning
October 1, 2013.
Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program will
showcase five nonprofit organizations each day for 50 days at
Facebook.com/Toyota. Visitors to the
page will receive two votes each day to select two separate winning organizations
they feel are most deserving of new Toyota vehicles. The Wildlife Center will be one of the five organizations
highlighted for voting on Tuesday, October 1.
Local residents are encouraged to
support the Wildlife Center in the quest for a new Toyota Sienna. If the Wildlife Center receives the most
votes and is awarded the vehicle, it will be used to support the Center’s
life-saving work as a veterinary hospital and education center. For example, the new Toyota will be used to
transport outreach staff – and education animals – to programs and events
throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
These non-releasable animals – typically an opossum, a reptile [turtle
or snake], or a raptor [falcon, hawk, or owl] – make life-changing impressions
on audiences of all ages and are the key to highlighting the steps that each of
us can take to protect wildlife.
The new Toyota would also be used to
pick up a “treasure trove” of food and supplies – donated fruits and vegetables
used to feed bears, opossums, rabbits, and other patients, as well as donated
equipment and medical supplies.
About the Wildlife Center
The Wildlife Center of Virginia is an
internationally acclaimed teaching and research hospital for wildlife and
conservation medicine. Since its
founding in 1982, the nonprofit Center has cared for more than 60,000 wild
animals, representing 200 species of native birds, mammals, reptiles, and
amphibians. The Center’s public
education programs share insights gained through the care of injured and orphaned
wildlife, in hopes of reducing human damage to wildlife.
In July 2011, the Center launched Critter Cam, which has allowed wildlife
enthusiasts around the world to watch a variety of Center patients. Current “stars” of Critter Cam include a record-setting 16 Black Bear cubs; Barn Owls or a Cooper’s Hawk, and an Eastern
Screech-Owl or Buddy, the Center’s resident Bald Eagle. A link to Critter
Cam may be found on the Center’s homepage – www.wildlifecenter.org.
Note to the Press: Photos of patients
treated at the Wildlife Center and resident environmental wildlife ambassadors are
available. Please contact Randy Huwa at
540.942.9453 or at rhuwa@wildlifecenter.org.
