The history and evolution of Ford's employee volunteer network
2005

• Bill Ford establishes the Ford Volunteer Corps
• Ford sends 25 volunteers a week to help rebuild in the village of Khao Lak, Thailand following December 2004 earthquake and tsunami in southeast Asia
• Thirteen-hundred Ford employees staff call centers across the U.S. and Canada for a “Shelter from the Storm” telethon in September for Hurricane Katrina victims
• In Southeast Michigan, over 11,000 employees give more than 86,000 hours to 130 nonprofits throughout the year
2006
• Ford Motor Company receives U.S. Chamber of Commerce award for efforts in wake of Hurricane Katrina; Honored by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm as Michigan’s Outstanding Corporate Citizen
• Nearly 3,000 employees participate in Global Week of Caring in September, logging 17,600 volunteer hours during the inaugural seven-day event

2008
• Ford Volunteer Corps introduces Accelerated Action Days – one day each quarter designated for volunteer projects focused on a specific topic
2010
• Ford Volunteer Corps logs more than 500,000 volunteer hours since 2005
2014
• Ford Volunteer Corps surpasses 1 million total volunteer hours – with more than 216,000 employees participating in over 9,000 community service projects in 48 countries across 6 continents since 2005
2015

• Ford Volunteer Corps celebrates 10 years of giving back to communities where employees live and work; Launches Bill Ford Better World Challenge global employee grant program and Thirty Under 30 philanthropic leadership program in the U.S.
• Global Week of Caring in September transitions to Ford Global Caring Month, expanding week-long effort into a 30-day concentrated focus on community service

2018
• Ford Volunteer Corps logs more than 1.5 million volunteer hours since 2005
• Thirty Under 30 expands; 2018 class includes employees from the U.S. and Canada
2019
• Thirty Under 30 expands to include employees from the U.S., Canada – and for the first time – Mexico
2020

• Amid COVID-19 pandemic, Ford Volunteer Corps accelerates the availability of virtual volunteering opportunities that can be completed online or via phone – from preparing job applicants for interviews, to reviewing grants online for women entrepreneurs, to staffing a virtual census phone bank and more
• Ford Read and Record virtual volunteering project invites employees to read a children’s book in their own language for families to listen to when schools went to remote learning at the end of 2019-20 school year
• Fifth-annual Global Caring Month pivots to give employees ways to safely give back; Program encourages employees to perform Acts of Kindness for friends, neighbors or families in need and invites employees to nominate a nonprofit for a Gratitude Grant in recognition of the work they are doing in response to COVID-19