Autobayng News Team
Children are our future. To help children, their families and caregivers, Toyota’s Way Forward Fund is committing resources to organizations dedicated to improving awareness, prevention, and health outcomes for those impacted by Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs).
Through community programs, universities, hospitals, clinics, and nonprofit organizations across the U.S., the Way Forward Fund is empowering those who are committed to raising awareness to help prevent TBIs. The team works with each organization to help ensure children, their families, and caregivers impacted by TBIs have the opportunity to get the support needed along the way.
Grants to these organizations have been celebrated across the country with the support of Toyota and Lexus Dealer Ambassadors. Toyota’s Way Forward Fund Dealer Ambassadors play a critical role in understanding the local needs and opportunities of their communities and helping identify “Best In Town” Way Forward Fund grantees.
The 2025 Dealer Ambassador celebrations to date include:
Toyota of Rockwall
Toyota’s Way Forward Fund, in collaboration with Toyota of Rockwall, celebrated combined grants of more than $733,000 to Abide Women’s Health Services in Dallas and Rockwall Grace Clinic. The grants will support community health education and training for children and their families recovering from traumatic brain injuries.
In addition, Abide Women’s Health Services will utilize the grant to offer pediatric TBI education through childbirth sessions, brochures, and workshops, aiming to help keep families informed and safe. Grace Clinic has launched Pediatric TBI Awareness Campaigns, partnering with local schools, churches, and nonprofits to educate and assist the Rockwall community and beyond.
Toyota of Ann Arbor
Toyota’s Way Forward Fund, in collaboration with Toyota of Ann Arbor, announced support for Eastern Michigan University (EMU) to establish a new program called Way Forward@EMU.
Within EMU, a group called Engage@EMU and the College of Health and Human Services collaborated to create the Way Forward@EMU which empowers youth to raise awareness and educate on how TBIs can be prevented, particularly amongst K-12 youth and families in their communities.
By leveraging paid leadership opportunities of a Youth Health Educator Corps (YHE), in partnership with Engage@EMU, high school students from Wayne-Westland, Ypsilanti, and Romulus Community Schools are being trained as peer educators to effectively raise awareness and influence transformative behaviors related to TBI prevention.
Through career exploration in health services, psychology, and neuroscience, YHEs are being equipped to disseminate vital TBI information and prevention strategies within their communities.
Brownsville Toyota
Toyota’s Way Forward Fund, in collaboration with Brownsville Toyota, celebrated a grant of more than $490,000 to the Cameron County Children’s Advocacy Centers (CCCAC). This grant will enhance the organization’s outreach program and mental health support for children and families recovering from TBIs.
CCCAC’s program aims to improve child development and decrease instances of physical abuse involving children with the goal of reducing brain injuries by enhancing caregiver and parenting skills through evidence-informed curricula, training outreach advocates and community professionals on TBI awareness and prevention and educating middle and high school students on infant crying patterns and the dangers of violent shaking.
Coliseum Lexus of Oakland
Toyota’s Way Forward Fund, in collaboration with Coliseum Lexus of Oakland, celebrated grants to the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC) and the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in combined support of $870,000 to programs focused on TBI preventative care, community education, and awareness programs that expand across the San Francisco Bay Area for children, caregivers and families.
With support from Toyota’s Way Forward Fund, EOYDC and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals are launching innovative pediatric TBI awareness programs to train caregivers, healthcare professionals, school participants, and community centers. Their specialized media campaigns, outreach events, and partnerships with educators and local officials will help ensure the TBI prevention messages reach far beyond the classroom.
To learn more about Toyota’s Way Forward Fund and the work it’s doing in communities across the country, visit www.toyotawayforward.org.
