Ford Volunteers Make Community Service a Worldwide Effort During Ford Global Week of Caring

Raising the walls of a new Habitat for Humanity house in Detroit.

Ford employees stepped away from their offices, cubicles and manufacturing plants, and stepped into a world of opportunities to help their local communities during the seventh annual Ford Global Week of Caring. An army of 10,000 Ford employees, retirees and dealers picked up paintbrushes and hammers, shovels, wheelbarrows and lumber to help create a better world on six continents.

Ford volunteers apply the final sealer to a security fence at Penrickton Center for Blind Children.

The Ford Volunteer Corps tackled 268 community service projects – 25 more than last year - from Asia to Africa and from Europe to The Americas. Ford contributed more than $100,000 (U.S.) in grants for the tools and supplies needed by volunteers to complete their projects in the Asia Pacific countries of Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as South Africa. Another $140,000 in grants was shared by nonprofits in the U.S. for a variety of projects, including the building of a Habitat for Humanity house in Detroit - a life changing experience for many families.

“When I got the call back saying I got a house, I was overjoyed,” said Sheena Pinkard, mother, family partner and new home owner. “Words cannot express…it shows there are so many good people, kind-hearted people who take time out of their day so me and my family can have a place to call home. It’s overwhelming.”

Model Team of Ford volunteers ready to paint at Matrix Human Services in Detroit.

“It’s wonderful to see the neighborhood coming up and seeing all the new housing,” said Andy Fradkin, supervisor, Ford IT. “They’re great houses. We do a lot of good work with a lot of different skills.”

Ford volunteers participated in community building and hunger relief projects in 15 states from Arizona and Texas to Georgia, Florida and New York. They stocked shelves and served meals at food banks, renovated shelters, landscaped care centers and even built playgrounds for children.

Staining a bridge at Lutheran Child & Family Services.

“We love it when Ford volunteers come out,” said Steve Quinlan, director, Institutional Advancement, Advanced Technology Academy. “They’ve enabled us to do a lot that we couldn’t have done otherwise. Great workers.”

“It’s absolutely awesome to come out to local schools in the community and make a difference,” said Tamira Chapman, counsel, Ford Office of the General Council (OGC). “Ford is one of the largest companies in the world and this sort of thing is inherent in our makeup to actually get our hands dirty and become part of the solution.”

Ford volunteers were on the job in more than two dozen countries. They repaired schools in Australia and South Africa, created water projects in China and Indonesia, worked on environmental conservation in the U.K., helped at orphanages in India and served meals at a homeless shelter in Canada.  

Ford volunteers put their skills to work for Habitat for Humanity.

“Around the world, Ford employees have built a reputation of making a difference with strong hands and huge hearts,” said Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. “We now have the momentum and resources to start taking the next steps toward realizing our global vision of year-round volunteer activities.”

Ford Global Week of Caring comes once a year, but Ford volunteers are out in the community week after week and month after month.  

“It feels really good to know you’ve made a difference,” said Chapman.

>>See more photos from the Ford Global Week of Caring on our Flickr page.
>>Follow the activities of the Ford Motor Company Fund on Facebook.