Toyota Ireland has announced that Irish Dogs for the Disabled and St. Ultans in Cherry Orchard, Dublin were selected as the recipients of new Toyota cars as part of its 2013 ‘Cars for Good’ programme. To date, Toyota has donated more than €80,000 worth of vehicles to charity since the programme’s inception in 2012.

As the awarded recipients, both St. Ultans and Dogs for the Disabled, who are based in Co. Cork, will receive a donation of one vehicle each from Toyota Ireland, up to the value of €20,000. The organisations can choose to raffle the car to raise funds or register the car for day to day needs.

St. Ultans is an integrated education and child-care project located in Cherry Orchard, Dublin. It operates before, during and after school hours and caters for children from infancy upwards.  Its aim is to improve the educational opportunities for local children. Irish Dogs for the Disabled provide specially trained assistance dogs to aid physically disabled children and adults to carry out a range of practical tasks in order to achieve greater independence.

Commenting on the programme, Ian Corbett, Marketing Operations Manager Toyota Ireland said: ‘We all know it is difficult for charities to raise funds in the current economic climate and our aim with this initiative is to provide help to the many worthy charities across Ireland. St. Ultans and Irish Dogs for the Disabled do fantastic work and we hope that this contribution will help them continue to the great work they are doing.”

“We are delighted to have been chosen as a recipient of the Toyota ‘Cars for Good’ programme,” commented John Scanlon, Manager at St. Ultans. “We are the only project in Ireland to approach education and care with an integrated and holistic approach through a wraparound service on one campus. It is great to know that we have supporters out there who want to see our project succeed and continue to provide local children with a more rounded education, through the combination of education and care.”

Jennifer Dowler, co-founder of Irish Dogs for the Disabled said, “Irish Dogs for the Disabled’s work is completely funded through the generosity of the general public and this gift from Toyota will help change the lives of many more children and adults living with physical disabilities in Ireland. Thank you Toyota for giving the gift of independence.”