Bridgestone Tire Engineering Team Mentors Urban Kansas City StudentsCompany renews sponsorship and volunteer efforts for MINDDRIVE 2014 summer tour
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 25, 2014) – Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) announced it has renewed its sponsorship and commitment to volunteering for MINDDRIVE, a non-profit educational program that uses the automobile and experiential learning techniques to teach at-risk high school students about math and science. To help fuel MINDDRIVE’s 2014 initiatives, the company will provide $30,000 in funding, as well as hands-on volunteers who will give more than 250 hours of their time to support the program and its urban youth.
The MINDDRIVE relationship, which is entering its fourth year with Bridgestone, is just one way Bridgestone continues to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to innovation and sustainability. Bridgestone’s tire engineers serve as mentors for MINDDRIVE’s 40 Automotive Design Studio students. The team lends its tire technology expertise to help Kansas City-area students design and build a highly sustainable all-electric vehicle for MINDDRIVE’s annual summer driving tour.
“We are proud to be aligned with MINDDRIVE in helping develop a next-generation, eco-conscious workforce through its hands-on educational experiences,” said Marty Yurjevich, Executive Director Advanced Tire Engineering and Race Tire Development, Bridgestone Americas. “As a leading corporate citizen, Bridgestone’s focus on helping to educate our neighboring youth is a proud claim for our company and one that helps ensure we are a great place to work.”
Bridgestone’s relationship with MINDDRIVE began in 2010, when the company began supplying the all-electric MINDDRIVE vehicle with its Ecopia line of tires. Ecopia is Bridgestone’s most fuel-efficient line of tires, engineered to save consumers money every time they drive. Bridgestone’s relationship with MINDDRIVE has since expanded to include an engineer mentoring program and an annual sponsorship.
“Bridgestone has been a committed supporter of the MINDDRIVE program from the very beginning. From providing tires and engineering expertise, to mentoring and granting access to testing facilities, we owe much of our program’s success to Bridgestone,” said Linda Buchner, President of MINDDRIVE. “We are excited that Bridgestone has pledged another year of support, and we look forward to hitting the road on Ecopia tires again this May.”
Developing more sustainable products is just one element of Bridgestone’s sustainability initiatives. The company’s global environmental mission is to help ensure a healthy environment for current and future generations. To learn more about Bridgestone Americas’ environmental activities, visit www.OneTeamOnePlanet.com.
For more information about MINDDRIVE and its 2014 summer tour of the California coast, visit www.minddrive.org.
About Bridgestone Americas, Inc.:
Nashville, Tenn.-based Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM) is the U.S. subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, the world’s largest tire and rubber company. BSAM and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires to address the needs of a broad range of customers, including consumers, automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers, and those in the agricultural, forestry and mining industries. The companies are also engaged in retreading operations throughout the Western Hemisphere and produce air springs, roofing materials, and industrial fibers and textiles. The BSAM family of companies also operates the world’s largest chain of automotive tire and service centers. Guided by its One Team, One Planet message, the company is dedicated to achieving a positive environmental impact in all of the communities it calls home.
About MINDDRIVE:
MINDDRIVE’S mission is to inspire students to learn, expand their vision of the future, and to have a positive impact on urban workforce development. The program is funded through the national sponsorships of Bridgestone, Hertz Corporation, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and KCP&L as well as through local foundations and individual contributors. MINDDRIVE serves nearly 50 students from the urban core of Kansas City, currently working with 15 area schools; students participating in Automotive Design Studio or in Contemporary Communications. The students choose their course and also are given the freedom to align with the particular aspect of the project that gets them the most jazzed. Mentors play a significant role in finding what that spark is for each student, then figuring out a way to inspire them in that direction.