WEST CALDWELL, N.J. –

Toyota and the Greater New York Toyota Dealers announced that they are joining forces to help educators who might be suffering financial strain during the last month of summer since many are unpaid during this time.

Officials said that when licensed teachers in Connecticut, New Jersey or New York lease any new Toyota, dealers will waive their first month’s payment up to $500.

Furthermore, participating dealers will award these educators a $250 gift certificate to Teacher Created Resources to spend on classroom supplies.

The special offer runs through Sept. 4.

Kevin Curran, vehicle operations manager for Toyota’s New York Region, explained, “We’ve always had a special kinship with teachers. They have the same core values as Toyota: hard-work, reliability, dependability. It is no coincidence that teachers are some of our most loyal customers.

"We empathize with teachers and understand that personal and school budgets are very tight. We want to help them get the car of their dreams and help supply their classrooms for the upcoming year,” Curran continued.

“Toyota has had a long commitment to philanthropy, especially to education,” he went on to say. “The Toyota USA Foundation has a $100 million endowment for programs dedicated to science, math and environmental studies. And we’ve contributed over $36 million to child literacy programs. We feel these are some of the best investments we have made.”

For more information, visit http://www.toyotalovesteachers.com.