DEARBORN, Mich., May 22 - The Ford Volunteer Corps today tackled environmental projects across Southeast Michigan during an Accelerated Action Day focused on creating a better world.
Hundreds of Ford employees were organized into MODEL Teams of volunteers and ventured out into local communities for a day of work that targeted important outdoor cleanup, repair and restoration projects.
"We all benefit from cleaning up and protecting the world we live in. It's good for the community and great for employee morale," said Janet Lawson, director, Ford Volunteer Corps. "By utilizing our high-impact MODEL Teams concept, we are able to steer Ford's employee people power into critical areas needing immediate attention and maximum results."
Ford's annual Rouge River Cleanup is the largest of 48 projects being undertaken by volunteers during this Accelerated Action Day.
MODEL Teams of volunteers branched out to two dozen locations along the river to plant native species of trees, shrubs and wildflowers. They also built turtle rafts, bird boxes and restored the riverbanks along various stretches of the famous waterway.
The Ford Volunteer Corps awarded mini-grants to fourteen area agencies for tools and materials needed to spruce up the environment. An additional grant funded the Rouge River Cleanup at 24 sites along the Rouge River. Equipped with shovels and rakes, brooms, gloves and plants, MODEL Teams fanned out across Southeast Michigan. Agencies awarded grants include:
- Angel's Place, Southfield, Clinton Twp, Troy and Beverly Hills: garden, plant flowers
- Arbor Hospice, Ann Arbor: construct bins to produce compost for gardens, plant flowers
- Boys and Girl's Republic, Farmington: stabilize bridge and save road to complex, plant flowers
- Children's Home of Detroit, Grosse Pointe: spring beautification project
- City Mission, Detroit: community garden project
- Detroit Zoo, Royal Oak: build a rain garden at Ford Education Center
- Henry Ford Estate, Dearborn: restore historic garden
- Huron-Clinton Metroparks: control invasive species of plants
- Lutheran Social Services, Westland: cover playground with rubberized pellet mulch for safety
- Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Ann Arbor: build boardwalk over wetlands at Nichols Arboretum
- Methodist Children's Home, Redford: plant trees to replace those lose to emerald ash borer
- Penrickton Center for Blind Children, Taylor: plant trees and shrubs, create butterfly garden
- Starfish Family Services, Inkster: planting community vegetable and flower gardens
- Vista Maria, Dearborn Heights: campus beautification project
The Ford Volunteer Corps held its first Accelerated Action Day in March under the theme of strengthening children and families. The effort utilized 20 MODEL Teams with some 500 Ford volunteers at 14 agencies. Projects such as painting and cleaning at child service agencies and shelters were estimated to reach close to 100,000 children and families.
MODEL Teams are formed on a regular basis throughout the year to perform needed tasks for nonprofit organizations, but each quarter on an Accelerated Action Day MODEL Teams come together to participate in large projects with a designated theme. Two more Accelerated Action Days are scheduled for 2008: September 11 - Safety and Shelter, November 26 - Human Services.
The MODEL Teams concept launched first in Southeast Michigan and will gradually spread out to other parts of the United States and Canada.
Ford Motor Company encourages salaried employees to take two work days per year and volunteer in their communities. Last year, more than 30,000 U.S-based Ford employees volunteered their time to work on community projects.
"MODEL Teams and Accelerated Action Days are two more ways Ford and its employees are pitching in to make a difference in our local communities," said Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. "We're doing our part to support Ford's tradition of caring and helping to create a better world for all of us."
Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services is committed to creating opportunities that promote corporate citizenship, philanthropy, volunteerism and cultural diversity for those who live in the communities where Ford does business. Established in 1949 and made possible by Ford Motor Company profits, Ford Motor Company Fund supports initiatives and institutions that foster innovative education, auto-related safety, and American heritage and legacy. National programs include Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies, which provides high school students with academically rigorous 21st century learning experiences, and Driving Skills for Life, a teen-focused auto safety initiative. The Ford Volunteer Corps, established in 2005, continues Ford's legacy of caring worldwide. Through the Volunteer Corps, salaried employees, union members, retirees and their families participate in a wide range of volunteer projects in their communities. For more information on programs made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services, visit www.ford.com.
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