TMP Foundation: 35 years later, celebrating milestones of corporate social responsibility

Training that leads graduates to good-paying jobs here and abroad. A two-story home in a properly-maintained village community. Regular healthcare services from outreach programs. Modern medical equipment in a community hospital. Digital classrooms in an adopted public school. Environmental initiatives to help keep rivers clean, mangroves healthy, and forests protected.These are not on a wish list of a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, these are the meaningful contributions that make the impact of Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) Foundation’s programs, built on four pillars – education, healthcare, environment, and community service.“The overarching philosophy is that we gain our resources from society, so we must give back to society,” TMP Foundation President Lito Aligada said, defining their purpose. That philosophy that guides the number one automotive company in the Philippines is the vision of Dr. George S.K. Ty, founder of a group of companies which includes TMP.**media[28963]**TMP Foundation’s programs are well-structured, each designed to lead communities – and its residents – to better lives. As TMP Foundation celebrates its 35th anniversary this month of July, Mr. Aligada paused from his busy workday to tell us the many stories that have made the organization truly a Foundation that espouses CSR.**media[28962]**Education“The pillar that has made the most impact on the community is education,” Mr. Aligada said.“Any improvement in skills and knowledge is for life. At TMP Tech, students graduate with a certification that allows them to be employed in a very good paying job here or in another country. From that, they help their families,” Mr. Aligada said.Toyota Motor Philippines School of Technology or TMP Tech, a world-class automotive technical institution in Santa Rosa City, Laguna established in 2013, has graduated more than 2,000 students, each with a success story of transformed lives. One of them – Romel Pajarito – whose life has inspired many, now works in Australia. He has expressed gratitude for the Toyota training which got him his job there.But it is the story behind the establishment of TMP Foundation and TMP Tech school that needs to be told and retold. Dr. David Go, a former president of TMP Foundation, said that much thought and dedication went into the design of CSR initiatives that are relevant to the community. That led to the expanded CSR programs, including TMP Tech of which Dr. Go says, “Group Chairman Ty recognized ‘. . . what society needs and realized that the strength of the Filipino people is in their skills and talent’.”He saw that after completing an education, further training can lead them to jobs. In 2013, TMP Tech was established to provide training for available jobs in the industry. This year, TMP Foundation budgeted around P10 million for current and new scholars under its Automotive Education Program.“The scholarships will fund more students to train at TMP Tech, and when they graduate, they can get jobs. That is the mission of TMP Tech,” said Mr. Aligada, who is also the president of the school.TMP Tech this year has a school population of around 900, for courses in automotive servicing, automotive body repair, automotive body painting. Since it opened, TMP Tech has graduated 2,792 automotive technicians.TMP Foundation’s education program also supports its adopted public school in the City of Santa Rosa, the Pulong Sta. Cruz Elementary School (PSCES). More than half a million pesos a year has been allocated since 2009 for projects ranging from feeding programs for the early grades (now provided by the Departments of Education and Social Welfare & Development) to support for field trips and school competitions, to annual physical exams for the teachers. From 2016, the Foundation spent more than P16 million on the PSCES computerization project. This initiative digitalized classrooms and learning systems through donation of notebook computers for teachers and LED TVs as teaching aids, establishment of a digital library, and the installation of an internet connection in the school.**media[28964]**Healthcare“The second most impactful program pillar is healthcare,” Mr. Aligada said, continuing to relate how the Foundation’s programs have touched lives in the City of Santa Rosa, Laguna, where the TMP manufacturing plant is located.Good health allows people to live good lives, he said. Supporting TMP Foundation’s healthcare pillar are the Medical-Surgical Outreach Program (MSOP), previously the Medical and Dental Outreach Program (MDOP), and donations of medical equipment to the Santa Rosa Community Hospital.“Since basic healthcare services from government health centers have improved, we have shifted our medical outreach program. Now we have a surgical outreach program in partnership with the Makati Medical Center”, he said. This program, the MSOP, has funded surgical procedures of beneficiaries with cases of Goiter, Cholecystolithiasis, Hernia, breast mass and abscess, among others. More than 100,000 beneficiaries have already been served through the MDOP and MSOP programs.**media[28961]**Mr. Aligada explained that the Foundation’s healthcare initiatives has also included donations of medical equipment to the Santa Rosa Community Hospital – dialysis machines, ECG machine, and cardiac monitors.Community serviceYears ago, TMP Foundation was known as the donor of a firetruck to the City of Santa Rosa, as well as other donations made to the LGU and barangays. Today, TMP Foundation is well-known for a donation which has transformed the lives of at least 160 families who were granted a house in the 8,000 sqm Toyota-City of Santa Rosa-Gawad Kalinga (GK) Village located in Barangay Pulong Sta. Cruz. Inside the village are the 160 housing units and a multi-purpose hall built through a P24-million donation. The hall hosts meetings, workshops, social gatherings, and livelihood activities of the residents. TMP Foundation had introduced candle making as a livelihood project which has created new sources of income for those who are part of it.**media[28966]**From among the residents, at least two stories on how being awarded a house there has transformed their lives “from nothing to something, now we have possessions – a TV, refrigerator, motorcycle.”These are stories shared by Benedicta Patapat, 64, and Bessie Ozcariza, 45. Both have struggled with poverty before they were chosen as awardees of Toyota-City of Santa Rosa-GK Village units. Benedicta, the mother of TMP Tech scholar Romel, had to work multiple jobs in a factory, construction, and as security guard to maintain a family whose house stood against a wall. Bessie and her family lived under a bridge beside a pigsty, and when it rained they had to stand in knee-deep water, with debris and even snakes floating around.Both spoke of gratefulness to Toyota for awarding them houses. They said: “It’s a great blessing to have a house and not to worry about rent or water leaking from the roof or flooding the floor. Now, even when it rains hard or there’s a typhoon, we feel secure in our house.”“From owning nothing, we now have possessions!” But more than that, Bessie articulated in her dialect the special blessing of the Toyota-City of Santa Rosa -GK Village house: “They taught us to dream that we will not just be this poor for the rest of our lives.”EnvironmentTMP Foundation’s fourth pillar – Environment – is a commitment not only to the communities in Santa Rosa but also to the global community. The Foundation has supported initiatives to keep the Santa Rosa River clean, protect and restore mangroves, establish a garden to preserve palm tree varieties, and help maintain the rain forest cover in the University of the Philippine Los Baños.TMP Foundation supports the SILAKBO (Sikad-Lakad-Takbo) activity which aims to protect and preserve the Silang-Santa Rosa River. This is an initiative of the City Government of Santa Rosa and Save Silang-Santa Rosa River (S3R2) Foundation.At the UP Los Baños, TMP Foundation supports the Toyota Palm Garden, a three-hectare area dedicated to showcase and hold native and endangered palm species. Under the Toyota Adopt-A-Forest project, the Foundation also continues to nurture a 10-hectare adopted forest block inside the Makiling Botanic Gardens.**media[28965]**In Batangas, and soon in Ilocos, the Foundation supports mangrove planting programs.There is no sign of a fading interest in keeping the CSR programs going. Mr. Aligada’s five-year vision for TMP Foundation defines a “go-expand” mindset.For education: “We want to further support scholarships in TMP Tech. There are many jobs that will become available abroad and to get that, you need proper training.”For healthcare, he sees an improvement of the healthcare scenario in the City of Santa Rosa. “Our donations of medical equipment and its benefits to the people can encourage other companies to also donate. For TMP Foundation now, we envision Santa Rosa Community Hospital as a facility with modern medical services.”For environment: “We shall support Toyota’s Environment Challenge 2050 (TEC 2050) in making sure that the Santa Rosa water continues to be a major resource, and that our mangroves will promote biodiversity.”On its 35th anniversary, TMP Foundation’s initiatives declare the big heart of its founder, Dr. George S.K. Ty: “We should give back to the community where our companies are located.”