Ford employees and dealers lace up their walking shoes each year and join
Chicago's Global Walk Team for the
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Walk to Cure Diabetes.
Ford Motor Company raises more money for JDRF nationally than any other corporate
sponsor.
Sharpening the skills of teenage drivers will make driving safer for all
of us. That's why the State of Illinois has teamed up with Ford's
award-winning Driving Skills for Life
program on Operation Teen Safe Driving.
Area schools are developing safe driving campaigns and Ford is funding driver training as
part of this statewide effort.
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Another Ford truck is ready for loading to help feed the hungry in Illinois. Ford has provided
more than 60 trucks to help America's Second Harvest
distribute food in Illinois and across a nationwide network of food pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters.
Based in Chicago, America's Second Harvest is the leading hunger relief organization in the United States.
Ford's commitment to education is having a powerful impact on Chicago area residents of all ages. Ford Motor Company Fund and its local partners
are transforming a 100-year old power plant into a charter school named Henry Ford Academy: Power
House High. The new 9-12 academy in the urban North Lawndale community is scheduled to open in August 2008 with 120 ninth grade students and will
eventually reach 460 students. The academic curriculum will emphasize the use of green building features to enhance lessons on the environment, clean
technologies and sustainability.
Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies (Ford PAS) is helping Chicago-area high schools provide
students with a challenging, real-world education that will give them an advantage in the workplace of tomorrow. This innovative program - whch
touches 17,000 students in 25 states nationwide - connects high schools with colleges and businesses to promote future success for students.
"Tots on Tuesday" is one of the most popular family programs at the
John G. Shedd Aquarium. For the past five years, Ford has been the sole sponsor
of this public education program that offers a full day of activities for children ages 3-5.
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Ford's support also extends to After School Matters, a nonprofit capable of serving
28,000 Chicago teens with hands-on programs that help them develop markatable job skills. With Ford's assistance, The
Youth Enrichment Program at El Valor serves 320 youth in the Pilsen community. The
program is based on a preventative model that begins to work with disadvantaged children at a young age to build critical, strong academic foundations for
future learning. Newspapers in Education reached 90,000 students last year in the Chicago
Southland community with Ford's help and the Midtown Education Foundation (MEF)
target's academically challenged children in poorer Chicago neighborhoods. A remarkable 89 percent of MEF alumni went on to college and 98 percent graduated from high school.
At the entrance to Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant stands the Ford UAW Training Center.
This facility will open the door to future jobs by training Ford UAW employees in robotics and high technology manufacturing. The center will also
be available for use by the community.
Sustainable design will be the focus of the Ford Calumet Environmental Center.
Ford Motor Company Fund provided the City of Chicago with a $6 million grant toward construction and programming for this state-of-the-art
center that features 140 acres of wetlands, natural habitat and environmental exhibits.
The Friends of the Parks program is sponsored by Ford as part of National
Public Lands Day. Ford is committed to protecting our local environment and more than 1,000 volunteers annually come together to clean
up Chicago's beaches, parks and playgrounds.
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