Employees of Toyota Material Handling went to work Monday morning, but not at the manufacturing plant in Walesboro.

Across Jackson, Jennings and Bartholomew, Brown and Johnson counties those employees volunteered their time to give back to the community.

It was the Columbus company’s fourth annual Toyota Lift the Community Day.

The event was created in 2021 as a way to involve all of the Toyota associates, including those who work in the plant. It became the largest organized single-day volunteer effort in the county.

Justin Albers, senior communications and public relations specialist for the company, said this time around the event is a little bigger because it involved more of the Toyota group companies and some of the North American dealer networks in the volunteer day within their local markets.

The community day is not just about supporting local counties, but has spread to areas around the country.

Albers said the Toyota Material Handling Heavy Duty Division supported efforts in and around the East Chicago area and several others dealers volunteered in their local markets around the country.

This year, the four Seymour organizations where Toyota employees volunteered were Jackson County Clothing Center, Sweet Cheeks Diaper Pantry at First Presbyterian, Boys and Girls Club of Seymour and Reins to Recovery Inc. Therapeutic Riding Center.

Bartholomew and Jennings counites organizations receiving help from volunteers included Bartholomew County Humane Society, Columbus Youth Camp, Jennings County United Way and Love Chapel in Columbus to name a few.

Volunteers were up bright and early on Second Street in Seymour as five Toyota associates helped with various inside and outside tasks to improve the appearance and efficiency of the Jackson County Clothing Center.

“I am just so excited they are here,” said Cheryl Vierling, secretary of the clothing center.

With two groups they were able to organize clothing donations, build a new donation box, new clothing racks and spread some gravel on the property.

“I enjoy just helping out the community we live in and in turn helping those trying to make a difference,” David Ollis said.

“I didn’t know this place existed before coming here and it’s a great resource for the community,” said Lee Pollert.

Besides providing volunteers for the community day, Toyota gave the clothing center a $600 grant to cover supplies needed for Monday’s work.

“It’s the little things in life that make a difference,” Vierling said.

Vierling said summertime is a busy month for the center asking for donations of bathing suits, tennis shoes and summer clothes of all ages. A monetary donation on specific items also is accepted, Vierling said.

For Toyota volunteers Katie Covert and Jennifer Cox, this wasn’t their first visit to the clothing center for the community day. Both of them agreed that helping out the community is something that they enjoy the most out of today.

“Our volunteers are great,” Vierling said. “Without them we wouldn’t be successful.”

Toyota volunteers arrived at the Reins to Recovery farm to lend a hand pulling weeds and sealing the fence in Seymour, 10861 U.S. 31. Brittany Lankford and Becky Armstrong were two of those volunteers who have wanted to work with Reins to Recovery for a long time. Although they live just down the road, Lankford said that in the past, the volunteer slots had filled up so fast that they did not get the chance to come.

“I’m hoping to do it (Reins to Recovery volunteer work) again in the future,” said Armstrong.

One of the volunteers working on the fences, Robert Grove, said it was his first time at the farm and that he heard many good things about the place beforehand. Matt Dean, another volunteer, confirmed this sentiment, having been to the farm before, speaking highly of it as a great place with a great cause.

Barbara Phelps, farm manager at Reins to Recovery, was thankful for the volunteer work from Toyota. Last year, they had kickboards installed in one of their barns, which protects the horses from hurting themselves against the metal walls. The farm is constantly expanding and getting better, which they could not make possible alone.

“We couldn’t do this without community help,” said Phelps.

A recent project completed at the farm was the construction of their classroom, funded by a Columbus Regional Health Foundation grant.

At Reins to Recovery, they offer therapeutic riding (TR), equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) and equine-assisted learning (EAL). The various programs provide services for those with disabilities, people who have been victims of crimes and elementary-aged kids that can learn various life skills through their lessons.

Their next big project is the creation of their large riding area, which has gone through its first phase of work.

On from 4 to 8 p.m., Aug. 24, Reins to Recovery is hosting their annual fundraiser, their “mane” event, to help fund their operational costs. They will be hosting a BBQ dinner with a live and silent auction. To learn more, visit reinstorecovery.org; call 812-350-4864; or email, [email protected].

Over at First Presbyterian in Seymour, Toyota volunteers gave helping hands to the church’s diaper pantry named Sweet Cheeks. While three volunteers packed bundles of diapers, pull-ups and wipes, three others painted a classroom that serves as a break room for church members who volunteer for the pantry.

Sweet Cheeks Diaper Pantry opened in September 2022. Currently, around 800 Jackson County residents are enrolled in the program. It is open to Jackson County residents from 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays, noon to 3 p.m. Mondays and 5 to 8 p.m. Thursdays at the church, 301 N. Walnut St., Seymour.

Jessica Olsen, director of Sweet Cheeks, said she was excited to have Toyota volunteers help the pantry for the second year in a row.

“Last year, we had a list and we thought, ‘Well, they’ll probably only get through five or six of the things, and that’s great!’ and they just sailed through the list, so it’s a huge blessing to have them here,” Olsen said.

Michelle Nichter, sales operations manager, spent the morning of her 28th anniversary at Toyota stuffing teddy bears for Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital and other hospitals, and spent her afternoon helping the pantry. She said one of the best things about working for Toyota is that the company allows employees to have time to give service back to the community.

“It’s really important and it speaks to the core values of the company,” Nichter said. “It helps us attract new employees to come to Toyota … I’ve been there for 28 years today and it’s important to me that we get 16 hours per year [to volunteer].”

Once the day was over, around 30 organizations across Bartholomew, Brown, Jackson and Johnson counties with 324 associates completing 2,348 hours of volunteer service.