Ford Fund tildeler $75.000 til VCCF for at hjælpe med katastrofehjælp fra Thomas Fire

Ford Motor Company Fund bevilgede for nylig $75.000 til Ventura County Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund for at hjælpe med den langsigtede genopretning af Thomas Fire og bestemte, at midlerne skulle gå til at støtte to lokale organisationer: Habitat for Humanity og Ventura Boys & Girls Clubs.

"Ford Motor Company Funds mission er at styrke lokalsamfund og gøre folks liv bedre," siger Jim Vella, præsident for Ford Motor Company Fund. "Når skovbrande eller andre katastrofer rammer, træder Ford og andre gode naboer til og reagerer for at hjælpe lokalsamfundene med at komme sig og genopbygge."

The Ford Motor Company Fund selected Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County to receive $50,000 for repairing and rebuilding disaster-damaged homes in the area. “Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County appreciates the Ford Fund’s support for rebuilding efforts. As a non-profit organization which has built 70 homes in Ventura County and repaired hundreds more, Habitat stands ready to support Ventura County residents with housing needs following the Thomas Fire,” said Steve Dwyer, Habitat CEO.

The remaining funds, $25,000 will be awarded to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Ventura for a teen leadership program that will focus on disaster relief efforts and leadership opportunities, giving the teens training in volunteering and how to be involved in the community. “The Thomas Fire has had both devastating and unifying effects for our community. Although the families that we serve were affected by the fire, there was a greater effect on the community members who regularly give financial support to charities like ours. We were so grateful that the Ford Fund reached out to us and asked how they could assist not only our organization, but to also give relief to our community,” said Patricia Birmingham, Ventura Boys & Girls Club CEO.

VCCF's CEO Vanessa Bechtel sagde: "Vi er begejstrede for Ford Motor Company Funds utrolige støtte til vores samfund i denne genopbygningsperiode. Vi sætter pris på Fords engagement i genopbygningsarbejdet efter katastrofen og visionen om at støtte teenageres lederskabskompetencer."

Siden Thomas-brandens start den 4. december har VCCF sikret sig mere end $1,7 millioner i bidrag til støtte for nødhjælps- og genopretningsindsatsen og har givet tilskud på i alt $1,5 millioner til nonprofitorganisationer, der er involveret i nødhjælpsindsatsen i frontlinjen. I øjeblikket har VCCF ca. $1 millioner dedikeret til mellem- og langsigtede nødhjælpsstrategier i sin Community Disaster Fund.

Om VCCF

VCCF investerer den velgørende kapital, der driver de filantropiske motorer i Ventura County. Fonden blev etableret i 1987 og bestræber sig på at opbygge filantropi i regionen og at give generøst til gavn for alle i Ventura County. VCCF investerer i fremtiden gennem stipendier, tilskud og samarbejdspartnerskaber. For mere information eller for at donere, besøg www.vccf.org.

Om Ford Motor Company-fonden

“Since we began our operations in 1949, we have invested nearly $1.5 billion in civic organizations around the world to help drive a brighter future. We focus our efforts on three key areas:
Community Life
“Community Life programs range from hunger relief to health care to support of cultural activities. Many of these programs are done in partnership with local Ford dealers using an innovative approach we call Operation Better World.
Education
“We also invest about one third of our funds in support of education, including scholarships that help deserving students attain higher education and programs that help schools offer students new approaches to learning.
Safety
Our international, award-winning Ford Driving Skills for Life program is the cornerstone of our safety efforts.”