A Better World

"Ford Motor Company has a longstanding history of corporate responsibility and has been a strong partner of Feeding America for more than a decade.”
-Vicki Escarra, President and CEO, Feeding America

Because our global company is only as strong as the local communities where we live, work and conduct our business, we have approached our efforts at the local level with a new focus.

Recently, we expanded our Operation Goodwill program to partner with dealers and a diverse range of nonprofit organizations to enhance quality of life in a number of U.S. cities where Ford has a presence, such as Chicago, Detroit, Phoenix and San Diego. In each of these cities, we have focused on philanthropic efforts that directly meet local needs.

One outcome of these partnerships is our Ford Mobile Food Pantries program, launched with Metro Detroit dealers in 2009 to help social service organizations collect and distribute food to the hungry. Ford contributed $210,000 for this program in 2010 and by the end of 2011, we will have donated 16 Transit Connect vans.

In 2010 we also celebrated the 10th anniversary of our partnership with Newman’s Own®, Inc., and Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization. As part of this partnership, a fleet of 98 refrigerated Ford trucks and vans loaded with Newman’s Own food products have delivered more than 130 million meals to families in all 50 states.

Veterans also are an important part of our local communities, and Ford has a long history of honoring them. For 16 years, Ford has been a sponsor of the National Disabled American Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, where hundreds of disabled veterans participate in adaptive sports, including skiing and sled hockey. In 2010, Ford donated $225,000 to purchase seven new vehicles for the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Transportation Network and to provide youth volunteer scholarships.

We believe that cultural arts and historic preservation also enrich and strengthen communities. In 2010, we once again teamed with the Smithsonian Institution and the Cincinnati Museum Center to offer Freedom’s Sisters, a touring exhibition that honors the legacies of 20 influential African American women. And we again partnered with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit on the Ford Freedom Award, which honors leaders dedicated to improving the African American community and the world.

In 2010, Ford Fund also continued to support organizations and initiatives that preserve America’s cultural heritage, including the Gettysburg Museum & Visitor Center, and a new exhibit at Mount Vernon.