The Toyota USA Foundation has announced grants totaling more than $1.3 million in support of innovative K-12 science, technology, engineering, math, and environmental science education programs serving diverse underserved communities.

Grant recipients include the American Indian Science and Engineering Society's Food for Thought program, which offers workshops designed to motivate and excite young students about science; American University's Lab2Class program, which accelerates the training process for midcareer scientists who want to shift into teaching; the California State University Bakersfield Foundation's Families for STEM program, which aims to increase the number of students from diverse backgrounds who are entering and successfully graduating from STEM fields; and the Colorado Theological Seminary and University of Denver's Kids Play Math program, a bilingual research-based computer game system designed to teach children math. The grants boost to $5 million the amount awarded by the foundation in 2012.

"We are proud to support these organizations and educational institutions, and to help further the important work they are doing to help our country's young people excel in mathematics, science, engineering, and environmental science," said Patricia Salas Pineda, group vice president of national philanthropy and the Toyota USA Foundation. "Toyota is deeply committed to supporting the next generation of America's leaders in these critical fields, and we look forward to seeing each of these programs — and the students and teachers they serve — make an even bigger impact in the years ahead."

For a complete list of grant recipients, visit the Toyota USA Foundation Web site.