Ford Volunteer Corps

In addition to the financial contributions made by Ford and Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services to hundreds of organizations globally in 2008, thousands of Ford employees and retirees volunteered to help build stronger communities around the world.

Volunteerism has been an integral part of Ford Motor Company since its creation in 1903. The Company's many volunteer efforts were unified in 2005 when Bill Ford, then chairman and CEO, founded the Ford Volunteer Corps. Ford volunteers immediately responded to the tsunami that devastated Southeast Asia and to the two hurricanes that hit the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Even in difficult economic times, we believe it is important to help the communities in which our employees work and live. Volunteer efforts help to build the morale of our employees. There's a strong business case for volunteerism, too: Our volunteer projects help to strengthen the name of Ford and enhance purchase consideration for future buyers.

The Ford Volunteer Corps comprises salaried employees and retirees across six continents who work to strengthen their communities. Ford Motor Company offers its U.S. salaried employees two workdays per year to volunteer in the community. Employees form MODEL Teams and volunteer to help nonprofit organizations. Last year, more than 18,000 Ford volunteers in the U.S. contributed approximately 100,000 hours of volunteer time to their communities, or the equivalent of $2 million in in-kind corporate contributions. Similar Ford volunteer efforts are replicated around the world where Ford employees live and work.

In 2008, Ford held four "Accelerated Action Days" – concentrated one-day efforts to meet critical needs identified by our agency partners. In March, we focused on the needs of children. In May, we zeroed in on the environment and included Ford's annual Rouge River cleanup in Southeast Michigan. In September, the theme was community building, with projects centered on safety and shelter. And in November, we focused on hunger relief.

Software designed and launched by the Ford Volunteer Corps aligns our volunteer projects with the needs of nonprofits across the United States. Using this system, employees can go online to sign up for volunteer projects based on their interests and availability. In prior years, our volunteers would essentially tell the nonprofits when we would provide hands-on assistance, without fully assessing when would be the best time for the nonprofits. Now, our non-profit partners can tell us when they need help and what manner of assistance they need.

In 2008, Ford held its third annual Global Week of Caring, a week-long series of volunteer events around the world, coordinated by the Ford Volunteer Corps. During one week in early September, about 9,000 Ford employees on six continents donated 24,000 hours of their time to approximately 124 projects. That's the equivalent of about $480,000 of in-kind corporate contributions.

During the 2008 Global Week of Caring, participants built homes, renovated shelters and schools and fed the hungry, to name just some of the efforts. This was the first time that Ford retirees could participate side-by-side with current employees on volunteer projects.