TL-MODA and Toyota Partner with The Salvation Army to Distribute More Than 15,000 Backpacks Nationwide Ahead of Back-to-School Season
Initiative supports children and families through distributions at dealership events, community distributions, and summer camps across the country.
Alexandria, VA (August 3, 2026) – Across the country, families are preparing for back-to-school season—but for many, the cost of essential supplies remains a significant challenge. To help ensure students start the year ready to learn, Toyota Motor North America, the Toyota Lexus Minority Owners Dealership Association (TL‑MODA), and The Salvation Army are uniting to deliver support where it’s needed most. Together, they will distribute backpacks filled with essential school supplies to students in need, helping set them up for success in the classroom and beyond.
Through this partnership, a total of 15,250 backpacks will be distributed across multiple channels to support families across the country.
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6,500 backpacks distributed to pre-registered families at TL-MODA dealerships in partnership with The Salvation Army
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4,250 backpacks distributed to children attending 18 Salvation Army summer camps nationwide
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4,250 backpacks distributed through Toyota-supported schools and other non-profit partners.
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200 backpacks distributed to families through TL‑MODA dealer partnerships with additional nonprofit organizations
This large-scale effort spans 66 TL-MODA dealership partners with local Salvation Army units, demonstrating the power of coordinated national and local action to meet critical community needs.
“This partnership reflects our shared commitment to meeting the real, everyday needs of families across the country,” said Commissioner Merle Heatwole, national commander of The Salvation Army. “By working together with TL‑MODA, Toyota, and community partners, we are able to help ensure thousands of children walk into the school year equipped, confident, and ready to learn.”
“At TL-MODA, we believe in lifting our communities, and that starts with our youth. We’re honored to partner with The Salvation Army again this year to help students start school with confidence, dignity, and the support they deserve,” says Robert Hatchett, Jr., executive director at TL-MODA.
“At Toyota we believe education is a key driver for creating opportunity -- and opportunity is foundational to sustainable, healthy communities,” said Ana Meade, vice president of sustainable development at Toyota. “By helping students access the supplies and support they need, we can help create the conditions for learning, so every child starts the school year ready to learn, grow, and succeed.”
With support from Walmart, which helped procure school supplies and cover shipping costs, each backpack is filled with age-appropriate essentials—such as pencils, notebooks, and folders—and in many cases includes a $10 Walmart gift card, ensuring that students from elementary through high school are equipped for the year ahead.
Backpack distributions will take place throughout the summer—from June through August 2026—with events hosted at TL‑MODA dealerships, Salvation Army service centers, schools, and summer camp locations nationwide.
While the numbers reflect the scale of this initiative, the true impact will be seen in the confidence it brings to students and the relief it provides to families, allowing children to walk into the classroom feeling equipped, empowered, and ready to thrive.
About The Salvation Army:
The Salvation Army helped more than 28 million people in 2025 overcome poverty, addiction, and economic hardships through a range of social services. By providing food, shelter, eviction prevention assistance, emergency disaster relief, rehabilitation, after-school and summer youth programs, spiritual enrichment, and more, The Salvation Army is doing the most good at more than 7,500 centers of operation around the country. For more information, visit SalvationArmyUSA.org. Follow us on Facebook @SalvationArmyUSA.
About TL-MODA:
TL-MODA’s goal is to represent the needs of minority dealers within Toyota and Lexus. Any dealership which represents a minority group, based on 51 percent or more ownership, is invited to join as a dealer member. Some of the benefits available to dealer members include networking opportunities, mentoring support, collective representation within Toyota and Lexus, community involvement support, and development opportunities, among others.
Toyota Lexus Minority Owners Dealership Association (TL-MODA) is a diverse dealer association focused on the growth and sustainability of Toyota and Lexus minority customers, and ethnic minority dealers. For more information, go to www.tlmoda.org.
About Toyota:
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.