Ford Volunteer Corps Puts Children and Families First on Accelerated Action Day

DEARBORN, Mich., March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- 

• Ford volunteers are on the job in the community helping children and families on a Ford Accelerated Action Day.
• Ford has invested $50,000 to purchase tools and materials needed to complete today's volunteer projects.
• Ford employees also held a diaper & baby formula drive to meet another urgent need for many families in the community.

Children and families are the foundation for the future, and hundreds of Ford employees and retirees are springing into action to help meet their urgent, unmet needs and boost their spirits on a Ford Accelerated Action Day.

The Ford Volunteers Corps has dispatched dozens of MODEL Teams into shelters, schools and family centers. More than 300 Ford volunteers are painting, building, renovating and cleaning. 

"There is no better use of our dollars and our deeds than to invest in children," said Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. "Our investment in the community will help bring comfort to families today, while laying the groundwork for better days ahead."

Ford volunteers are focused on urgent projects identified by our nonprofit agency partners.  Many of the organizations also are receiving mini-grants of up to $5,000 to buy the tools, paint, lumber and other materials needed to complete their volunteer projects. Ford grants totaling $50,000 have been awarded to participating agencies, including: 

• Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, Detroit - paint playroom, assemble shelves & equipment   
• First Step Domestic Violence Program, Wayne – create art therapy room for children
• Habitat for Humanity, Detroit - build house walls for spring 2012 projects
• Habitat for Humanity Macomb, Clinton Twp – renovate interiors with paint & flooring
• Habitat for Humanity, Monroe – finish two houses with paint, cabinets & flooring
• HAVEN, Pontiac - create three child-friendly spaces at emergency shelter for families
• Junior Achievement, Detroit – assist 120 students with personal budget exercises
• Legal Aid & Defender Association, Detroit – certify eligibility in food stamp screening project
• Lighthouse PATH, Pontiac - paint teen/parent building hallways & community room                
• Methodist Children's Home Society, Redford – paint and update residential cottages
• Penrickton Center for Blind Children, Taylor – adapt battery-run toys & build activity boards
• Salvation Army – Denby Center, Detroit – renovate private shelter and public rooms
• Starfish Family Services, Inkster – staff activity day promoting pre-K motor-skill development
• World Medical Relief, Detroit – assemble 1,000 hygiene kits for area homeless families  

Ford's agency partners also report a critical need for diapers and baby formula among low-income families. To help ease the shortage, the Ford Volunteer Corps also sponsored a diaper & baby formula drive for families in southeast Michigan. Employees at more than a dozen Ford buildings in the Detroit area collected diapers, wipes and formula for distribution to those in need during another Drive to Make a Difference.

"Ford and its employees are active members of the community and eager to make a positive difference for our neighbors any way we can," said Janet Lawson, director, Ford Volunteer Corps. "Creating a better world starts by helping people close to home in the neighborhoods where we work and live."

About Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services

Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services works with community partners to advance driving safety, education and community life. For more than 60 years, Ford Motor Company Fund has operated with ongoing funding from Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F). The award-winning Ford Driving Skills for Life program teaches new drivers through a variety of hands-on and interactive methods. Innovation in education is encouraged through national programs that enhance high school learning and provide college scholarships and university grants. Through the Ford Volunteer Corps, more than 25,000 Ford employees and dealers work on projects each year that better their communities in more than 40 countries. For more information, visit www.community.ford.com

SOURCE Ford Motor Company