Helping the disadvantaged take to two wheels this Global Caring Month


Our on-going ‘Park the Car’ campaign encourages people to use their cars less and make shorter journeys on foot or on bicycle, but it’s not always that simple; some people may not even have the luxury of a car to park, let alone a bicycle to take them on the slightly longer journeys. As part of our Global Caring Month programme, Ford volunteers were involved with charities in Germany and the UK who aim to help address this issue.
 
In Germany, we worked with two charities – Caritas and Mobile Nachbaren-Initiativenverbund GL – on a joint project where Ford employees helped to run repair workshops for donated bikes for refugees and socially disadvantaged people at different locations in Bergisch Gladbach. In the UK, Ford employees from Dunton, Dagenham and Here East collectively donated 53 bikes to Bike Project UK, which will refurbish and donate them to refugees. For many refugees or those seeking asylum, a bicycle can be a lifeline while they await for official status.
 
“Whether it’s our ‘Park the Car’ campaign or the work during Global Caring Month, building a better world where people are free to move and pursue their dreams is a key commitment for Ford. Yet the efforts of our employees in volunteering or nominating organisations for grants highlights just how personal this is too. We feel enormous gratitude to these fantastic organisations for letting us be a small part of the amazing work they do. ”

Debbie Chennells,
Ford Fund manager
 


Global Caring Month is a signature program of the Ford Volunteer Corps, our global network of employees and retirees that volunteer their own time. They have logged more than 1.7 million hours volunteering in projects across six continents since 2005. On top of that, this year our philanthropic arm, Ford Fund, awarded €906,863 (£791,202) in grants to 126 employee-nominated non-profits in 30 countries.
 
Below are just some of the great projects in Europe we’ve been supporting this year through volunteer work or grants:
 
Ghost Diving Germany – (grant) deploys divers to retrieve fishing waste from the sea and recycle it safely

Fundación Ayuda UnaFamilia (Help a Family Foundation), Spain – (grant) will help distribute clean water in impoverished areas in Valencia, delivering 40,000-50,000 litres each week

Oxford Mutual, UK -  (grant) provides vital support to those who need it, delivering 190 emergency food parcels a month and cooking over 650 meals a week to enable people to live healthy lives

vzw De Veerkracht, Belgium (volunteer) raising walls and painting rooms to help families with sick children or children with disabilities

Ronald McDonald house,Cologne, Germany – (volunteer) provides a safe place for families to stay while their child is treated in a nearby hospital

Home Care Aachen, Germany – (volunteer) refurbish outer areas, do maintenance work, and lay the foundations for two e-bike charging stations

Craiova EmergencyHospital, Romania – (volunteer) helping to transport and install fridges for storing medication and supplies





Comments