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Ford Motor Company Fund Goes to School with Innovative Education Programs, New InvestmentsAutomotive design can stir a person's deepest passion. Rami Khoury knows the feeling. So does Konnor Bartels. They are two of the first five winners of the William Clay Ford (News - Alert) Automotive Design Scholarship, honoring Mr. Ford's legacy of design innovation and leadership. "I look at the automobile as a rolling sculpture on wheels," said Khoury, a student at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. "All of these shapes and forms that move on the street, and yet carry people to their destinations. It has both form and function." Bartels, a student at Cleveland Institute of Art, has always liked creating designs and bringing them to life. "Design fuels my passion and desire to create," he said. "I am excited by the collaboration, the creation, the story and the user." The $1 million William Clay Ford Automotive Design Scholarship, honoring William Clay Ford's outstanding contributions to automotive design, will award $10,000 to five outstanding college sophomores or juniors each year for 20 years. It's one of several new initiatives Ford Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company (News - Alert), is launching to accelerate its commitment to helping young people reach their potential. All told, Ford Fund is investing more than $1.7 million in new and ongoing global educational programs, part of more than $8 million annually in scholarships, grants and other initiatives that offer promising and at-risk students the opportunity to follow their career dreams and hone essential workplace skills. Ford Fund also is focused on helping vulnerable students stay in school and graduate, keeping them on track for future success. In addition to continuing signature education programs such as Ford Blue Oval Scholars, Ford Next Generation Learning and Ford Freedom Award, Ford Fund's educational investments getting underway include:
Henry Ford believed deeply that education was the key to success and he acted by founding schools and developing other learning opportunities that helped benefit generations of people and their communities. Today, education remains a pillar of Ford Fund's efforts to create a better world through innovative programs and strategic investments aimed at the next generation of innovators and world leaders. "The tools have changed dramatically since Henry Ford's day but the goals are the same - teach young people the essential skills they will need to succeed in the workplace," said Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. "Education is a critical ingredient in determining individual and community economic success, and Ford Fund is always looking ahead for new ways to help." About Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services works with community and global partners to advance driving safety, education and community life. Ford Motor Company Fund has operated for more than 65 years with ongoing funding from Ford Motor Company. Ford Driving Skills for Life is free, interactive, hands-on safety training focused on skill development and driving techniques, while addressing inexperience, distractions and impaired driving. Innovation in education is encouraged through Ford Blue Oval Scholars, Ford Next Generation Learning and other inspiring programs that enhance high school learning and provide college scholarships and university grants. The Ford Volunteer Corps enlists more than 30,000 Ford employees and retirees each year to work on local projects that strengthen their communities and improve people's lives in more than 40 countries around the world. For more information, visit http://community.ford.com. About Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 195,000 employees and 66 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit www.corporate.ford.com. For news releases, related materials and high-resolution photos and video, visit www.media.ford.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150923006063/en/ |