Toyota raises more than £500,000 for MND Association and extends charity partnership into 2027

Toyota (GB) has raised more than £500,000 to support people living with and affected by motor neurone disease (MND). It has also extended its partnership with MND Association for a further two years, into 2027.

Toyota joined forces with MND Association in 2021. The charity was chosen by the company’s staff in memory of a much-loved colleague, Rachel Rollason, who suffered from MND, a terminal neurological condition that affects up to 5,000 people in the UK at any one time.

Since then, colleagues from Toyota (GB), Toyota Financial Services, Toyota Insurance Services and KINTO UK, have pushed themselves to the limits in a variety of fund-raising activities including taking part in marathons, a cycling challenge from Portsmouth to Newcastle, a Tough Mudder and a 100km walk along the River Thames which raised more than £120,000 in just two days.

Tanya Curry, MND Association’s Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted that Toyota has chosen to extend its partnership with us. We are so grateful for everything they have done to support our work over the past four years, whether that’s by volunteering, training to take part in an event, or fundraising. Thanks to Toyota, we have been able to provide support grants for life-changing wheelchair adaptions, while pushing forward with ground-breaking research into potential new treatments for this terrible disease. Over the next two years, the strong partnership between our organisations will continue to grow and allow us to accelerate progress in the fight against MND.”

Scott Thompson, Toyota (GB) President and Managing Director, said: “I’d like to thank our staff for their efforts in helping us reach our fundraising target of £500,000.  We already have plans for further fundraising, for example next month four senior team members: Jason Milton, Rob McKendrick, Carla Henson and Dariusz Mikolajczak, will take part in the London Marathon.”

For more information, or to donate, visit https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/campaign/toyota-london-marathon

For more information about MND Association please visit www.mndassociation.org

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

About the MND Association

The MND Association was founded in 1979 by a group of volunteers with experience of living with or caring for someone with MND. Since then, it has grown significantly, with an ever-increasing community of volunteers, supporters and staff, all sharing the same goal – to support people with MND and everyone who cares for them, both now and in the future.

The MND Association focuses on improving access to care, research and campaigning for those people living with or affected by MND in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

About motor neurone disease (MND):

• MND is a fatal, rapidly progressing disease that affects the brain and spinal cord.
• It attacks the nerves that control movement so muscles no longer work. MND does not usually affect the senses such as sight, sound, feeling etc. 
• It can leave people locked in a failing body, unable to move, talk and eventually breathe.
• Over 80% of people with MND experience changes to their speech, which may become slurred or quieter. Some people lose their ability to speak entirely.
• It affects people from all communities.
• Around 50% of people with MND experience some form of cognitive change while living with the disease. This can affect their thinking or behaviour. This percentage rises to around 80% for people who are in the advanced stages of the disease.
• It kills a third of people within a year and more than half within two years of diagnosis. 
• A person’s lifetime risk of developing MND is around 1 in 300.
• Six people per day are diagnosed with MND in the UK. 
• It affects more than 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time. 
• It kills six people per day in the UK (just under 2,200 per year).
• It has no cure.