First Winner of ‘100 Cars for Good’ Helps Students Become Well-Versed in Arts and Athletics
July 17, 2012
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DC SCORES a Sienna – Students kick up their heels (and their soccer balls) to celebrate their new Sienna. DC SCORES, which provides after-school programs for Washington, D.C., students, was the first winner in this year’s “100 Cars for Good” program sponsored by Toyota.
Talk about poetry in motion. The kids who participate in DC SCORES not only slam soccer balls, they also have a ball at poetry slams.
And thanks to Toyota’s “100 Cars for Good” program, a new Sienna keeps students and supplies in motion.
DC SCORES, which provides after-school programs for 800 low-income students in Washington, D.C., was the first winner of Toyota’s 2012 program. Michael Rouse, vice president of diversity, philanthropy and community affairs for Toyota Motor Sales, presented the Sienna to the organization on June 28.
Now in its second year, the “100 Cars for Good” program awards 100 vehicles to 100 charitable organizations over 100 days. The public picks the winners by voting on Facebook at www.100carsforgood.com.
After some 4,200 organizations submitted applications this year, an independent panel of philanthropy experts selected 500 finalists. Each day through Aug. 21, five non-profit organizations are profiled on Facebook.
Minivan Fans – Students pile into a new Sienna that will support after-school programs that pair soccer and poetry.
DC SCORES combines arts and athletics to help increase students’ physical fitness and self-expression. Students from 27 schools attend matches on soccer fields and poetry readings in coffeehouses.
In a video created by the organization, one of those students captures the symmetry between sport and sonnet in a poem entitled “Soccer and Me.”
“When I play it is hard to say that I am there.
Soccer takes me to a better world.
It makes me feel free.
So no matter win or lose,
I am as happy as I can be.”
By Susan Pack