NCFL mourns the loss of Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, visionary leader of Toyota
It is with deep sadness that we learned of the passing of Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, the former President of Toyota and longtime friend and supporter of NCFL. He was a visionary and a pioneer in the automotive industry, and his contributions to the success of Toyota—as well as to families in American communities—are immeasurable.
While he will be known for his legacy in automotive mobility, he leaves behind another important legacy of supporting millions of families in their multigenerational educational pursuits. In addition to spearheading the Toyota Motor Corporation for years, Dr. Toyoda was known for his philanthropic work, and he was a passionate advocate for education. In the early 1990s, Dr. Toyoda led Toyota’s Corporate Citizenship Activity Committee, and it was in this committee that Toyota’s executives recognized the power of NCFL’s work. He later spoke on this in NCFL’s 2019 book, “Grit, Grace & Gratitude,” saying, “When I first met Sharon [Darling, founder of NCFL] thirty years ago, I was deeply impressed with her great vision that ‘parents and children learn together,’…Sharon’s vision soon became ours.”
with Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda and other Toyota executives, circa 1990
In 1991, Dr. Toyoda provided Toyota’s first donation to NCFL to establish a model literacy and learning program, focused on preschool children and their parents, called the Toyota Families for Learning Initiative. Since then, NCFL has continuously partnered with Toyota for more than 30 years on initiatives that resulted in more than $50 million supporting families and communities throughout the country.
Dr. Toyoda made multiple trips to the United States to see firsthand communities and families benefiting from Toyota’s philanthropy through NCFL’s model programming.
_2.JPG "During his visit to Louisville, Kentucky in 2011, Dr. Toyoda and a family participating in family literacy engaged in a learning exercise together. Dr. Toyoda greatly enjoyed meeting the families who benefited from Toyota's contributions.")
participating in family literacy engaged in a learning exercise together.
“For Toyota, supporting the work of NCFL is not only a privilege, but an opportunity. We are proud to consider NCFL as one of our signature programs, and one to which we have dedicated generous resources with outstanding results…We know that with NCFL, we are making an investment in families and communities.” – Dr, Toyoda, “Grit, Grace & Gratitude”
We need more leaders like Dr. Toyoda—leaders with a fierce commitment to philanthropy that’s focused on supporting children and parenting adults with lifelong learning opportunities, such as family literacy. We mourn the loss of this remarkable leader, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues. Rest in peace, Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda.