2011 Outstanding Corporate Philanthropist

Stephen D. Taylor,

Taylor Automotive

Taylor Automotive made a substantial contribution to Imagination Station that provided hands-on science experiences for over 6,500 Toledo Public School students in the 2010-11 school year.  Thanks to Stephen D. Taylor's vision and generous support, every TPS fifth grader received admission and transportation to Imagination Station to encounter science exploration, demonstrations and activities that cannot be replicated in the classroom.  Taylor Automotive also funded 60 Rollercoaster workshops for TPS fifth grade classrooms and 21 Forces and Motion Science Festivals for TPS elementary schools for all grade levels.  TPS students received over 258 hours of science outreach due to Taylor Automotive's gift.

The ten month program culminated in an end of year awards celebration for top performing students at Imagination Station.  TPS fifth grade teachers nominated one student in each class based on improvement in academic performance, attitude towards learning, overcoming adversity, commitment to excellence, respect for adults and peers and leadership in class/modeling of good behavior.  Nominations were scored and Steve Taylor presented each of the top five students with a new Netbook computer.  The teacher and parents received a $100 gasoline gift card also provided by Taylor Automotive.  The nominations revealed these students had undergone amazing transformations by significantly improving their grades and skill sets in science and other subjects.  One of the students placed as a finalist in the You Be the Chemist competition.  The program was especially inspiring because the majority of these students were dealing with adverse situations that would challenge most adults.

The Taylor Automotive sponsorship inspired the launch of Imagination Station's Adopt-A-School initiative where other corporations and foundations adopt" students enrolled in districts unable to visit the science center due to budget and field trip cuts.  In 2010-11, an additional 2,600 were able to visit Imagination Station and/or receive science outreach by following Taylor Automotive's example.  Stephen Taylor personally encouraged The Blade to support the TPS fifth grade program at Imagination Station by donating ad space and providing publicity.  Taylor Automotive is a major supporter of Perrysburg Schools and a leading corporate philanthropist for many other non-profit organizations in addition to the science center.