Chrysler Group's Kokomo (Ind.) Facilities Drive to Fight Hunger at Thanksgiving

KOKOMO, Ind., Nov. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

• The Salvation Army of Howard County serves more than 13,000 residents every year.
• Chrysler Group's Kokomo (Ind.) facilities' Thanksgiving Food Drive will provide nearly 2,000 hungry residents with Thanksgiving dinner.
• Thousands more are expected to be helped by donations from Chrysler Group facilities in Southeast Michigan; Toledo, Ohio; Belvidere, Ill. and Washington, D.C. 

Chrysler Group's Kokomo (Ind.) manufacturing facilities, along with The Chrysler Foundation and the UAW, helped make this holiday season brighter for nearly 2,000 local residents today by making the Salvation Army of Howard County the recipient of more than 3,000 non-perishable goods, plus 250 turkeys.

"Not so long ago, when Chrysler needed critical support to get on the road to recovery, our communities stood behind us," said Jody Trapasso, President – The Chrysler Foundation. "This donation is an opportunity to help those most in need and to show gratitude to our communities."

From November 7 -17, employees of Kokomo Casting Plant, Kokomo Transmission Plant, Indiana Transmission Plant I and Indiana Transmission Plant II contributed food and monetary donations to help provide hungry residents with a traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner. The monetary donations, with the help of a local Meijer, were used to purchase traditional side dishes to complement the 250 turkeys anticipated to go home with Indiana families in need this Thanksgiving.

Similar efforts took place in Southeast Michigan; Toledo, Ohio; and Belvidere, Ill., where Chrysler Group employees collected donations to benefit the Salvation Army and other local food banks. In Washington, D.C., Chrysler Group and The Chrysler Foundation will provide a grant to SOME (So Others Might Eat) in support of their efforts to feed senior citizens during the holiday. SOME is an interfaith, community-based organization that serves the homeless and destitute in the District of Columbia.

Today's donation to the Salvation Army is expected to feed nearly 2,000 people in Howard County, Ind. In total, it is estimated that more than 12,000 people in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Washington, D.C. will be assisted by the food drive.

Chrysler Group's Kokomo facilities are active participants in the community, donating more than $2,500 worth of food to another local food pantry just earlier this month. Chrysler Group employs nearly 5,000 workers in the Kokomo area.

SOURCE Chrysler Group LLC