Even though General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC continually hold philanthropic events year-round, each is especially giving back to their communities during this Thanksgiving Day.
DETROIT, MI- Detroit automakers are helping those less fortunate this Thanksgiving Day, and supporting some of the largest parades in the country.
Even though General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC continually hold philanthropic events year-round, each is especially giving back to their communities during this Thanksgiving Day.
Chrysler
While announcing plans to invest $238 million and add 1,250 jobs at three facilities in Michigan last week, Chrysler also announced its philanthropic arm, the Chrysler Foundation, donated more than 1,500 frozen turkeys to food banks in plant cities across the country.
Employees of the Auburn Hills-based automaker also delivered food to local food banks in their communities to help drive out hunger this holiday season.
“It is one more example of how we are giving back to our local communities,” said Chrysler CEO and Chairman Sergio Marchionne during the announcement last week in its Mack I engine plant in Detroit.
This is the second year that Chrysler has held an enterprise-wide food drive. Last year, Chrysler’s donations helped feed more than 12,000 people across Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Washington, D.C.
Additionally, Chrysler is the official vehicle sponsor of the 79th McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Chicago.
Chrysler provided 29 vehicles to support the parade and its organizers, and will it have an official parade entry featuring one vehicle from each of the company’s brands: the metro-Chicago-built Dodge Dart, a Fiat 500 Abarth, a Jeep Wrangler, a Chrysler 300S, a 2013 Ram 1500 and the brand new 2013 SRT Viper.
“We are especially excited to see Santa increase the power of his ride from eight reindeer to the Hemi V8 engine in the Dodge Durango, which will pull his sleigh this year,” said Jeff Kommor, Chrysler Midwest Business Center director.
Ford
The Dearborn-based automaker and Newman’s Own, Inc. partnered with Feeding America to donate Ford refrigerated trucks filled with Newman’s Own food products to food banks in four regions, including Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan.
This is the 12th-consecutive year that the two companies have teamed up. With this year’s donation of four Ford F-550 trucks, a total of 107 Ford trucks and vans have been donated to Feeding America food banks to help deliver nutritious perishable foods to people across the country.
“While there are encouraging signs that we are coming back from the tough economic times of the past several years, many families still are struggling,” said Bill Ford, Ford executive chairman, in a statement. “This partnership is important because it not only provides food to families in need, it also contributes to building stronger communities and a better world.”
Feeding America is the nation's largest hunger relief organization. It annually helps feed more than 37 million Americans struggling with hunger.
Besides Gleaners, other food banks receiving trucks this fall are Feeding America San Diego, Feeding South Florida in Miami and Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
“Some of the largest increases in food need are in suburban Detroit communities, many of which lack a strong network of emergency food providers,” said W. DeWayne Wells, president of Gleaners, in a statement.
Earlier this week, Ford was also awarded the “Partner Award” from the Corporate Pro Bono, the global partnership project of the Pro Bono Institute and the Association of Corporate Counsel, for its pro bono partnerships to serve the needs of the local community.
GM
The philanthropic arm of the Detroit-based automaker, General Motors Foundation, is sponsoring a new pro-education float Thursday during America’s Thanksgiving Parade in downtown Detroit.
The theme of the float, which stands 17 feet tall and 60 feet long, is “Education Fuels Tomorrow’s Innovators.” The float, according to officials, showcases the foundation’s commitment to investing in America’s youth – the next generation of innovators.
“Our new float is a celebration of the GM Foundation’s many educational partnerships and our commitment to encourage more students to pursue studies of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) - areas critical to the future success of our nation,” said Selim Bingol, GM vice president of global communications and public policy and the new chairman of the GM Foundation.
The float, designed and built by The Parade Co., is also a celebration of education in Detroit, specifically the United Way “Network of Excellence,” created by the GM Foundation’s $27.1 million commitment to seven Detroit-area high schools and administered in conjunction with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan.
The goal of the effort is to raise graduation rates by 30 percent over five years while supporting the leaders and innovators of tomorrow.
“This float is GM Foundation demonstrating its commitment to the youth and families of our community,” said Michael J. Brennan, United Way for Southeastern Michigan president and CEO, in a statement.
The 86th America’s Thanksgiving Parade starts at 9:05 a.m. at Woodward and Mack avenues on Thanksgiving Day and will end at Woodward Avenue and Congress in downtown Detroit.
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