Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

19001 South Western Ave.

Dept. WC11
Torrance, CA 90501
February 25, 2016
Dallas City Chamber of Commerce
500 N Akard Street., Suite 2600
Dallas, Texas 75201
Dear Dallas City Chamber of Commerce,
Over the last few decades, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex has exploded both in population
numbers and size. On the surface, this is a very good thing for your city. Businesses are moving
themselves to the area, and economically speaking, Dallas is well off. This is why we, Toyota
have recently decided to move to Plano, Texas.
With our move to the area, we want to take an initiative to become a good neighbor and become
socially responsible for our new home.
Background:
According to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (2013), the population of Dallas
in 1990 was 1,006,877. By 2010, the population had risen to 2,367,636 (United States Census
Bureau, 2015). The area more than doubled in size in 20 years and is continuing to expand today.
With growth like this, the housing infrastructure simply cannot keep up with the increasing
demand for housing. As the demand and cost for housing increase, more and more people will be
struggling to afford their rent or house payments.
Most young adults who are struggling are paying a majority of their income towards rent because
of the inflation in housing costs. Steve Brown, of the Dallas Morning News states that the
average monthly rent in the Dallas was $888 as of 2014 (Steve Brown, 2014). With most
apartment complexes requiring that their tenants make three times rent in monthly salary, these
young adults should expect to make close to $2,664 a month, or $31,968 annually which is a
ridiculously high income for a struggling person to make.
Our goal is to reduce poverty and homelessness in young adults. City House in Plano, Texas is a
nonprofit organization who specializes in child and young adult poverty. They allow newborn to
17-year-olds to stay in their 24 bed complex as part of their My Friends House program (City
House). They also offer a transitional living program and they operate a youth research center.
Their transitional living program expands beyond the age of 17 to assist young adults who have
aged out of the My Friends House program. As stated on their website, City Houses
Transitional Living Program (TLP) is designed for homeless young adults, ages 18 to 21,
focusing on helping them grow and learn to live independently. (City House).

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We have a history of running successful outreach programs ourselves in areas such as our joint
venture with the American Red Cross and our poverty fighting Meals Per Hour initiative
(Toyota, 2013). We at Toyota feel that a company of our size has an obligation to make the world
a better place starting in our own backyard.
Problem:
An exploding population in Dallas also means that the number of homeless people is increasing
as well. Every day there are young adults who may come from a family of drug addicts, or who
may be the only person of their family in this country and does not know where to begin; that is
where we come in.
We are seeing that the age group with the highest unemployment rate is among young adults,
ages of 18 through 24 (The New York Times, 2012). This is a very troubling fact for those of us
at Toyota as these young adults should be graduating college, getting a good job, and getting on
their feet to begin their lives. The lucky ones will do just that, but you cannot deny that times are
changing, and this ideal reality is now much harder to obtain than ever before.
For generations, services for the homeless have only been directed to dependent children and
older people, now their attention is being directed to what is now called transitional age youth,
or young adults whose needs are distinct. We want to recognize this problem and create an
awareness that we need up and coming organizations like City House to begin the process of
solving the transitional age homelessness problem.
Purpose:
Since the day City House opened their doors in February of 1988, they have had many success
stories of the young adults they have helped. City House began when two Plano teachers by the
name of Nancy Boyd and Kay Goodman noticed several students living out of their lockers.
They opened a six-bed teen homeless shelter and today it is a 24-bed multi-faceted organization
serving at-risk youth due to abuse, neglect or homelessness. Their mission is to protect youth,
empower them, and transform lives (Meredith Shamburger, 2015).
The story of City House is an inspiring one. City House set out with a clear goal and purpose in
mind and are living true to it day in and day out. Their undying passion and dedication is the
primary reason that we have singled out City House of an organization that we would like to
support.
The work that City House does is important because most people do not know what it can
actually be like for the people in the Dallas area who are homeless. Kim Horner of the Dallas
Morning News states that when the homeless population was counted in 2010, 251 families
were in transitional housing programs, 167 were in shelters and four had no shelter. (Kim
Horner, 2011). While City House does not primarily focus on families, it is shown how
desperately transitional housing programs are needed for these families and the young adults
who City House specializes in.

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Our plan is to bring awareness to these young adults who cannot afford to live on their own.
Overall, our purpose is to give them hope for the future and give them a fresh start. All of us at
Toyota have gone through this transitional period ourselves so it is easy to empathize for people
who may not have an easy time during this age. We cannot sit idly by watching these people in
our new home suffer; and who knows, they could end up as our employees someday.
Proposal:
Our proposal is to partner up with City House to continue serving young adults who need a
shelter and the basic needs to survive. We would like to spread awareness by hosting a 5K run.
We would like to extend an invitation the residents of Dallas and the surrounding suburbs. We
would also like to publically send a special invitation to the Mayor of Dallas to support this
event. Since City House has a good reputation we thought they would be the perfect organization
to work with. For the last 28 years, they have continuously had their doors open to kids who
have been neglected.
We believe that a 5K is the perfect event for a variety of reasons. A 5K run is a family friendly,
all ages type of event; ensuring that everybody can participate. More people who are able to go
means more people will become familiar with City House. The run will draw in families, running
enthusiasts, and people who just want to volunteer and make a difference with an amazing
organization.
It is important to note that we at Toyota will largely be covering the costs of putting on the run.
We would like to reach out to potential sponsors to help with the costs, but currently we do not
have any lined up and are planning on covering the costs. Any and all proceeds received from the
event will be donated directly to City House in hopes that they will continue their work.
Plan:
Initial Budget
We will begin with initial funding of about $35,000 which Toyota will provide. This should
cover initial costs of coordinating the run and our paid staff.
Sponsors
Our sponsors to offset the cost of the race would be local Dallas vendors who provide t shirts,
water bottles, and other branded items that can be distributed to our participants. We do not
anticipate the need for sponsors to give cash donations as we plan to cover the administrative
costs of the initially provided funding by Toyota.
Volunteers
Volunteers will make up the majority of our staff the day of the event. Most of our volunteers
will be current CityHouse volunteers along with a couple of volunteers we will recruit from high
schools and college campuses. We will make use of plenty of bodies to oversee the entire course
of the run, encouraging the runners and providing standby assistance if necessary.
Participants

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We expect somewhere over 700 participants to offset the initial funding and create a substantial
profit that will go towards CityHouse and increasing awareness of homelessness in the young
population of Dallas.
Day of the Event
The event should go smoothly. We will have an ambulance on site in case of an emergency,
portable restrooms, first aid supplies, and will take every precaution possible to ensure a
successful 5k run that is enjoyable for everyone.
Participants will receive goodies from local Dallas sponsors before and after they complete the
course.
Schedule:
Logistics for run finalized

January 14 - February 13

Location, specific schedule of event, marketing, number of volunteers and help needed will be
finalized.
Sponsor acquisition

February 14-20

Local Dallas businesses will be approached for items they can contribute such as water bottles, tshirts, lanyards, etc that can have their logo on it showcasing their support for the cause.
Participant registration

February 21- April 31

Participants will be able to register online. We will also partner up with the local Dallas
businesses contributing to the run so that participants are also able to register at their locations.
Day of 5k run

May 1st

Staffing
For our fundraiser, we will need a small, paid staff, and rely on a large number of volunteers. We
will employ a Director for the fundraiser, who will be the leader of the staff. Our director has a
lot of experience with organizing and putting on fundraisers and events. Her name is JaniceLongfellow Cobblepot, and she is very well known throughout the Dallas area. She has a vast
amount of experience in organizing and executing special events. She graduated from the
University of Texas in 1990, Magna Cum Laude, and she has been organizing events for
companies in the DFW area ever since. It is well known throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area
that if you want to host an event, and want it to be the best, then you need to hire JaniceLongfellow Cobblepot. She will be considered a paid employee, and she will bring with her a
team of experienced employees to help with organizing the event. These staff members will
handle the planning of the event and handle all of the logistics for the 5k.
In addition to the planning of the event, our team will also handle all of the marketing and
advertising that we will put out in the Dallas community. It is a main goal of ours to really spread
the word about our event throughout the community and spread awareness about the City House

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cause. Our team is very well qualified and has substantial experience with organizing
fundraisers.
In addition to the staff, our event will require the assistance of a large number of volunteers. The
job of the volunteers will be to help set up the trails for the run, bring food and drinks for the
runners, and to help assist with all of the activities in general during the fundraiser. Our volunteer
staff is highly diverse, coming from a variety of different backgrounds. We plan to take
volunteers who volunteer with City House, our own employees, and reach out to the Dallas Area.
They dedicate their time to volunteer just because they want to help our cause. Our volunteers
are of the utmost importance to us and without them, the fundraiser simply wouldnt be able to
be held.
Budget:
For our budget, we have done extensive research into the projected costs for the 5k fundraiser,
and we believe that we have an accurate representation of what it will take to make this event
happen. It will actually be rather inexpensive to fund the event; all in all, the total expected cost
is $35,000. We have provided a chart to show the different expenses and how they relate to the
total cost.

Expenses:
Administrative Expenses

$20,000

5k Fundraiser Expenses

$12,500

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Food/Beverage Expenses

$1,100

Miscellaneous Expenses

$1,400

Notes:
As you can see, the majority of costs will come from our employees salaries and from the actual
event itself. The administrative expenses compile all of our 5k teams salaries, including Janices
salary. For the 5k itself, we will need to pay rent for the location will be held. Also, we will need
to buy supplies to set up the actual course.
The 5k expenses also include our advertising expenses as well. We will also have to buy a large
amount of food and beverages for the event, for there will be a lot of people in attendance. Also,
we will have a small amount of miscellaneous expenses, which would include a wide variety of
small expenses. Overall, these expenses are not too extreme, and in fact, they are actually quite
manageable. These numbers are very accurate and even if we are off on the expenses, the margin
of error for our estimates is +/- $4000.
Authorization:
We are positive that our event will have positive and permanent effects on the Dallas area going
forward. Obviously, the end goal is to eliminate homelessness and we feel that by creating
awareness for the work that City House does. We believe this event is a big step forward in the
ongoing war against homelessness.
These young adults are our future employees, taxpayers, and city lawmakers. They are the future
of the Dallas area. Both the short and long term benefits of this event are unmatched. Frankly, we
do not believe that there is anything more important than fighting homelessness that is in our
backyard.
We would like to thank you for taking the time to consider our event. We can guarantee results
and truly are passionate about this project.
Sincerely,

MacKenna Abbott, Branch Manager

Flor Morales, Vice President of Operations
Drew Raulston, Vice President of Finance
Mariela Pena, Vice President of Marketing
References
City House. Retrieved from http://www.cityhouse.org/about_us.shtml
Meredith Shamburger (November 25, 2015). Plano-based City Houses counseling services
provide support to youth in crisis. Retrieved from
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/plano/headlines/20151125-planobased-city-houses-counseling-services-provide-support-to-youth-in-crisis.ece

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Steve Brown (July 2, 2014). DFW Apartment Rents Reach Record High as Leasing Surges.
Retrieved from http://www.dallasnews.com/business/residential-real-estate/20140702-dfw-apartment-rents-reach-record-high-as-leasing-surges.ece
Texas State Library and Archives Commission (May 21, 2013). 1990 Census: Population of
Texas Cities, Arranged in Alphabetical Order. Retrieved from
https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ref/abouttx/popcity1.html
Toyota (2013). Community: Grants, Guidelines, and Applications. Retrieved from
http://www.toyota.com/usa/community/grant-guidelines-applications
United States Census Bureau (Dec. 2, 2015). State and County Quickfacts. Retrieved from
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/48113.html
Kim Horner (January 07, 2011) New Face of Homeless is a family.
Retrieved from http://www.dallasnews.com/news/communitynews/dallas/headlines/20110107-new-face-of-homelessness-is-a-family-dallas-areaagencies-say.ece
The New York Times (December 18, 2012) After Recession, More Adults Are Living on Street.
Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/us/since-recession-moreyoung-americans-are-homeless.html?_r=0