Bill Ford ramps up his commitment to disaster relief, struggling families
Air Force veteran left homeless by Hurricane Sandy now part of global response team backed by automaker
Bill Ford is a guerrilla philanthropist who created a series of rapid response teams that have delivered care and supplies after natural disasters on six continents over the past two decades. This week, he renewed the automaker’s massive investment of manpower to help provide food, housing and blood while also assisting with rescue in communities hit by tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes.
The partner list: Habitat for Humanity, Feeding America, American Red Cross and Team Rubicon. These national organizations provide a reach far and wide.
In addition to money and equipment ranging from pickup trucks to medical supplies, Ford provides paid time off for employees who volunteer. Ford Philanthropy has spent more than $2 billion over 75 years.
During this especially uncertain period in American business with companies working to navigate shifting global trade regulations and consumer challenges, Bill Ford said his commitment is unwavering.
“I think, with all the talent we have and with our resources, it’s actually incumbent upon us to bring those to bear on our communities,” he told Shifting Gears after an event at Michigan Central Station in Detroit on Tuesday.
“You can’t have a healthy company if you don’t have a healthy community,” he said. “So, anybody who would say this is frivolous? I would say you’re dead wrong.”
Minutes earlier, he had taken to a stage to spotlight the Ford Building Together initiative and share his vision as the great-grandson of the company founder. His son Nick stood by his side. Nick Ford, a director of corporate strategy, is the third of Bill Ford’s children now involved with the family company. Will Ford is the general manager of Ford Performance. Alexandra Ford English serves on the board of directors. (Ford’s daughter, Ellie, is a clinical psychologist.)
“We’re seeing the needs of communities continue to change and evolve. Meeting those needs requires a deeper commitment,” he told the cheering crowd of an estimated 1,000 Ford volunteers.
Workers, rescuers change lives
Danielle Freeman, 50, of Novi, has worked as a commodity manager in supply chain at Ford for 25 years. Volunteering after hours is now a valued part of the corporate culture, she told Shifting Gears. “It takes a village to solve these problems. It’s important to be intentional.”
Carnel Richardson, 39, a Red Cross disaster program manager from Southfield, said public events that raise awareness also build community. “This is about sharing who we are and what we have to offer. The Red Cross is about alleviating human suffering, there to respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”
Saviors who once needed saving
Matt Colvin, 44, a U.S. Air Force veteran from Brick, New Jersey, told the crowd that he lost everything during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. After serving multiple tours in Afghanistan, he spent four months homeless and living on friends’ couches across the U.S. until he could find stability.
Now he leads the fundraising machine as vice president of development at Team Rubicon, a veteran-led humanitarian organization based in Los Angeles that goes to communities hard hit by disaster.
“The big ones — flooding, tornadoes, massive hurricanes — are doing exponentially more damage than ever before,” Colvin told Shifting Gears. Thousands of rescue volunteers take turns driving donated Ford trucks, vans and SUVs every year, he said.
From food bank distribution to blood drives, Ford dealers and employees are activating charitable response, Bill Ford said.
Standing with community has to go beyond celebration to response during times of crisis, whether it’s building planes during wartime or making masks during a pandemic, he said. Keeping the commitment means “showing up for our communities after the cameras are gone and strengthening them for future generations.”
As Bill Ford turned to leave the event, product development engineer Bing Jiang, 48, a U.S. citizen who lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, dashed to ask him for a selfie. The executive chair of the board stopped so Jiang could snap a photo.
She said, “In my heart, Ford is a very family-oriented company. This is another side of us.”
Earlier this week, Ford made headlines for year-over-year market share growth of 1.9 percentage points to 14.7% and stock market gains that outperformed the S&P 500.
Note: I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. This week, I recommend a beautiful essay by Chip Albright “The Power of Music Therapy” about the final days of life for his father in law.
Thank you for highlighting this philanthropic work — hopefully will inspire others!
It’s good to know there are people like Ford who has a humanitarian mission.