The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit Launches Summer in the City Fundraising Campaign
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (July 8, 2020) — The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit is kicking off its Summer in the City fundraising campaign presented by Toyota. From July 13 through Aug. 7, the nonprofit will look to the community to help raise $250,000 for metro Detroit residents who are struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Summer in the City Campaign will provide food assistance and utility bill payments, as well as adequate access to medications, prescriptions and transportation assistance.
Led by a $77,777 matching donation from Toyota, the four-week fundraiser will be chaired by Alva Adams Mason, director, multicultural business alliance & strategy for Toyota Motor North America and Salvation Army National Advisory Board member.
Donations of any amount made to the Summer in the City Campaign are welcomed, and because all gifts up to $77,777 will be doubled and fully matched, dollar-for-dollar by Toyota, a $1 donation becomes $2, $25 becomes $50, $100 becomes $200, etc.
"At Toyota, we want to build more than just great cars and trucks," said Adams Mason. "The success of our communities is key to a healthy nation. We are proud to continue our support of The Salvation Army and its mission of helping families and individuals in need, especially during these uncertain times that have been brought on by the coronavirus. We're all in this together, and we must combine our resources to help those in need, no matter where we live."
The Summer in the City Campaign will raise funds, hope and awareness to support the next phase of the nonprofit’s COVID-19 related assistance to metro Detroit. To date during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Salvation Army has:
- Provided more than 1.1 million meals to families
- Served more than 304,000 beverages to families
- Helped nearly 3,700 families with utility and rent assistance
The average electric bill for a family of four residing in Michigan during the summer months is approximately $97, while the average monthly rent in the city of Detroit is about $890.
“The Salvation Army knows how hard our region was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and we want to continue providing assistance to our community in any way we can – but we would not be able to do that without this generous support from Toyota” said Major Timothy Meyer, general secretary and metro Detroit area commander (regional chief operating officer) for The Salvation Army Eastern Michigan Division. “We take pride in helping anyone who needs it throughout the year; we have always provided food and shelter to clients throughout southeast Michigan, as well as utility and rent assistance – so the Summer in the City Campaign is another way we’re continuing our mission to ‘Do The Most Good’ and help families facing hardships on the road to recovery, post COVID-19."
The Summer in the City Campaign is presented by Toyota, an organization with close ties to The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit. The corporation has been supporting The Salvation Army for nine consecutive years with its Walk in My Boots Program – an annual community outreach project where Toyota donates winter boots and socks to those in need.
This year’s Campaign Chairperson, Adams Mason, will be joined by other business leaders who support the nonprofit’s mission. Each week, a Summer in the City “Champion” will promote and share support of the campaign with his or her personal and professional networks.
For more information on the 2020 Summer in the City Campaign, including a list of corporate champions, please visit www.salmich.org/SummerInTheCity. Individuals can Give Hope and Give Light by donating to The Salvation Army’s Summer in the City Campaign by:
- Texting SUMMER to 24365
- Visiting salmich.org and clicking DONATE
- Calling 877-SAL-MICH
- Sending a check made payable to The Salvation Army, to: 16130 Northland Dr., Southfield, MI 48075
Additional information about The Salvation Army’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak can be found at salmich.org/covid19.
About The Salvation Army
Founded by William and Catherine Booth in London, England in 1865, The Salvation Army is a faith-based, non-profit organization dedicated to serving people in need without discrimination. This past year, The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit was involved in providing 2,535,013 meals and 579,920 nights of shelter for the homeless. The Salvation Army uses $.87 of every dollar raised to provide direct services to people in need each and every day of the year. For more information about The Salvation Army, please call 877-SAL-MICH, or visit us at salmich.org.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 38 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.
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