When 100 Girl Scouts from southern Dallas visited Toyota’s headquarters in Plano, Texas, in November 2017, it was the first time many of them had ever seen a corporate campus. In fact, it was the first time some of them had ever ventured too far from their own neighborhoods.
The girls participate in Girl Scouting in the School Day (GSSD), a program offered by the Girls Scouts of Northeast Texas to at-risk middle schoolers from underserved communities in partnership with the Dallas Independent School District. In place of gym class, once a week the GSSD girls have troop meetings where they are taught financial literacy and budgeting through a grant that is part of Toyota Financial Services’ (TFS) $3.3 million partnership with the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA). The girls also receive STEM education and are taught practical life skills as well as the importance of positive self-esteem and body image.
During its field trip to Toyota headquarters, the group met TFS CEO Mike Groff, learned how to establish good credit and budget for a vehicle purchase, played financial literacy Family Feud, learned how cars are built through a Lego simulation, and toured the new campus to learn about environmental sustainability and the science, technology and engineering behind the construction.
“My girls were overly excited on the bus ride home and said they want to work for Toyota,” says GSSD Program Manager Nayelly Rodriguez. “Even some of my staff members want to be part of the TFS team! Girls need to be introduced to these kinds of things, so they know that they, too, can be part of a great company and have a great career.”
