Earlier this week, the Ford Motor Company Fund announced that it will be investing $200,000 to provide 30,000 books and other critically needed school supplies for 1,500 educators in Dallas, Huston, and Phoenix who have been hit the hardest by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The initiative is championed by Elena Ford, the great-great-granddaughter of company founder Henry, and the current Chief Customer Experience Officer for the Blue Oval brand.
“We’re showing the kids that no matter where you learn – school or home – books can inspire dreams and spark interest in subjects that could be the beginning of an exciting career,” said Elena Ford, chief customer experience officer, Ford Motor Company. “We want kids to understand that reading is fun and rewarding, and will allow them to take advantage of educational opportunities that can help them achieve personal success.”
The effort is part of Ford Fund’s ongoing collaboration with First Book, a non-profit organization that is designed to help address literacy shortfalls among underfunded educational institutions.
By the end of 2020, the Ford Fund will have invested more than $600,000 and delivered more than 130,000 books to students all across the nation through this partnership.
To kick off this year’s initiative, Elena Ford will be leading a live virtual reading party for more than 10,000 elementary students from 44 Ford dealer-nominated and other Title 1 schools across the cities of Dallas, Houston, and Phoenix. She will be joined by award-winning children’s author Andrea Beaty, who will be reading her story, “Rosie Revere, Engineer” about a young girl with a passion for inventing.
Following the event, participating schools will receive an electronic gift card to use towards the purchase of books, school supplies, and safety items like hand sanitizer and wipes. Teachers will be able to place custom orders to meet specific classroom needs as well.
This educational investment isn’t the only thing Ford has been doing to address community issues relating to COVID-19. In addition, the Ford Fund will be donating more than 100 million face masks to students and families with limited access to personal protective equipment in at-risk communities across the U.S.
To learn more about Ford Fund’s response to the ongoing pandemic, please visit http://www.fordfund.org/covid19.
