Ford Volunteer Corps—Helping to Create a Better World
At Ford Motor Company, corporate responsibility is a fundamental part of doing business. We strive to be a company that makes a difference in people’s lives — one that inspires our employees, delights our customers, rewards our shareholders and makes the world a better place.
For more than 100 years, Ford and its employees have been helping the communities where we live and work through financial contributions and hands-on volunteerism. We’ve supported projects that benefit children, adults and families in need. We’ve created brighter futures for thousands of people by using our hands and our hearts. We build, plant, clean, feed and walk for causes great and small, enriching lives and showing we care. Across the United States and around the world, Ford and its employees are working to create a better living environment for people and the places they call home.
Our dedication, goodwill and individual efforts to improve our communities were unified in 2005, when Bill Ford created the Ford Volunteer Corps (FVC) to respond to the Indian Ocean tsunami and subsequent disasters in the U.S and abroad. Today, FVC is comprised of employees and retirees across six continents. We support initiatives to build stronger communities.
MODEL Teams Roll into Action
Teamwork is one of the ways we get things done at Ford Motor Company. In the Ford Volunteer Corps, we harness the energy, enthusiasm and know-how of our employees by forming MODEL Teams of volunteers who work together on critical projects. These MODEL Teams maximize our efforts by quickly and efficiently organizing volunteers into fast-acting units that can quickly tackle urgent projects that benefit our community partners and the people they serve.
Ford encourages salaried employees to spend two workdays per year to volunteer at an approved nonprofit organization. In 2010, more than 27,000 Ford salaried employees and retirees contributed more than 112,000 volunteer hours to a wide variety of projects - from building homes for Habitat for Humanity to painting orphanages, renovating shelters, feeding the hungry, organizing medical and dental clinics, cleaning up parks and waterways, and mentoring young people.
Ford Accelerated Action Days
The Ford Volunteer Corps is active year round, but several times each year, large numbers of Ford volunteers answer the call to form MODEL Teams and take part in a Ford Accelerated Action Day. These special days are focused on a specific theme, and concentrate hundreds of volunteers and dozens of MODEL Teams on seasonal projects in their communities. In addition to the helping hands of volunteers, Ford provides mini-grants to nonprofit agencies to help purchase supplies, materials and tools for the volunteers to complete their projects on Ford Accelerated Action Days.
2011
- March 23 - Children and Families: serving the needs of children
- May 13 - Better World: improving the environment
- September 14 - Community Building: safety and shelter
- December 2 - Giving and Sharing: feeding the hungry
Ford Global Week of Caring – September 10-18, 2011
Ford Global Week of Caring connects our employees around the world through volunteerism. During the 5th annual Ford Global Week of Caring in 2010, more than 12,500 employees in 41 countries worked on nearly 200 projects. It's an important part of Ford's work to create a better world. Among the many community projects completed during this special week:
- More than 1,000 volunteers in India performed community service at libraries and schools
- Hunger relief and home building were among more than a dozen projects in Argentina and Brazil
- U.K. volunteers painted a school for disabled children and landscaped a mental health facility
- Ford volunteers put up portable buildings to aid disadvantaged families in Australia
- Volunteers worked at nature reserves and schools in South Africa
- Ford employee volunteers built a drinking water well in Ghana
- Volunteers helped cleaned beaches and build libraries in China
Ford Global Week of Caring takes place on 6 continents in September each year.
Lunch Buddies
Facilitated by Big Brothers Big Sisters, Ford volunteers experience the magic of mentoring by spending the lunch hour with student “buddies” once a week. From helping with homework to group discussions about life, the Lunch Buddies program enriches the lives of both mentor and student.
More Information
To learn more go to: http://www.volunteer.ford.com
