The mainstay of the Operation Brighter Future -- Detroit program is a new Ford Resource and Engagement Center that will be opened at the Mexicantown Mercado building, which has remained dormant for years, in southwest Detroit.
DETROIT, MI- Ford Motor Co. is committed to bringing the city back to “economic prosperity,” according to the automaker’s chief operating officer.
The Dearborn-based automaker and its community relations arm Tuesday announced a flurry of philanthropic efforts, including a $10 million program aimed to strengthen neighborhoods in Detroit.
The mainstay of the Operation Brighter Future – Detroit program is a new Ford Resource and Engagement Center that will be opened at the Mexicantown Mercado building, which has remained dormant for years, in southwest Detroit.
“No matter what the economic circumstances, whether with the city or even our own economic circumstances, we have always held steadfast to our commitment to contributing to the city,” Ford COO Mark Fields told reporters after the event inside the new center.
Under the program, which Ford hopes to bring to other communities its employees live in, the building will offer cultural and job training programs and other community services, including a food service center.
The Ford Motor Co. Fund, or Ford Fund, partnered with the Mexicantown Community Development Corp. for the program. Ford Fund will provide funding to local nonprofits to implement the programs and also provide the resources to operate the facility for at least four years.
Hector Hernandez, chairman emeritus of the MCDC board, said the community center is a 30-year dream of the surrounding community to build a facility “which would serve as the center of cultural and entrepreneurial programming activities.”
“Ford, the city, MCDC are all committed to providing the highest quality of services to the Southwest Detroit community within the Mercado,” he said during the announcement.
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, as well as a handful of other city officials, were also on hand for the announcement. Bing called the Mercado a “landmark facility” for the city.
“This (Mexicantown) is one of the bright spots in our city,” he said, before thanking Ford for its other efforts.
During the announcement, Fields also said Ford and Ford Fund have other plans under Operation Brighter Future – Detroit to help Detroit and Southeast Michigan.
Fields said Ford “adopted” the Patton Recreation senior center in Southwest Detroit, and will provide funding to add a wide variety of youth programming at the center, including arts, gymnastics, lacrosse, karate and swimming.
The Patton Recreation Center, under Ford’s funding, will also include a Brighter Future Summer Camp, which will offer 80 to 90 youth a summer camp experience. Ford Fund also will provide a limited number of scholarships for youth to attend the camp.
“The health of the city is very important,” Fields said following an event. “Southeast Michigan in our home, and we want to do our part towards strengthening neighborhoods and providing support to education, youth employment and other community needs.”
Fields also said the program will fund a “Detroit Summer Youth Employment” program that provides training and work experience for youth ages 14 to 21; support the “Greening of Detroit” and its projects to turn abandoned sites into parks; and donate two F-Series chassis, which will be turned into new ambulances for the city of Detroit, to the Detroit Public Safety Foundation.
During his speech, Bing personally pointed out how important the new ambulances will be for the city.
“Because of the city’s financial difficulties, we’ve not been able for years to make the necessary investments to get new vehicles, or even to maintain the ones that we have,” he said. “This may get dwarfed by the $10 million, but what Ford is committing to out fire department is unprecedented.”
Bing said one of the biggest complaints that his office gets from a public safety standpoint is EMS response times, and these vehicles should drastically help.
Ford Fund’s ongoing community partnerships, as well as support for southeast Michigan nonprofits for community development and many other programs have totaled approximately $60 million during the past five years.
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