Submitted by Boys and Girls Club of Thurston County
Ford Motor Company Fund is donating $77,500 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Washington, Oregon, northern Idaho, Montana and Alaska, in keeping with its commitment that no child should go hungry — especially as the holidays approach.
Sixty-four clubs across the five-state region are receiving Ford Fund grants ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 as part of the Ford Focus on Child Hunger campaign. This donation will expand the previously launched Ford Focus on Child Hunger campaign and increase the number of children who benefit from this hunger initiative.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County is receiving $2000. Half of the grant is coming from Ford Fund and the other half from Mullinax Ford in Olympia.
“As many families prepare for holiday celebrations, others are struggling simply to keep food on the table,” said Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund. “Today’s donation is one more step to support families and children who face food insecurity.”
“Every day after school our kids come to us hungry and we make sure they receive a healthy snack. The sad reality is that some of these kids come to us extremely hungry as they may not have had breakfast or lunch. We are very grateful to Ford Motor Company and Mullinax Ford for providing funds to support our healthy snack program,” said Joe Ingoglia, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County.
Ford Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company, is working in several ways to address food access and food insecurity throughout the U.S. In the five-state Pacific Northwest region, Ford Focus on Hunger has donated more than $800,000 and provided one million meals to regional programs. Earlier this year, Ford dealers in the region collected more than 30,000 pounds of peanut butter, enough to make 420,000 peanut butter sandwiches.
A fleet of more than 35 Ford Mobile Food Pantries provides food banks across the country with added flexibility in delivering food. Over the last five years, the Ford Fund has given over $5.3 million to hunger-related organizations across the country and nearly $420,000 to Boys and Girls Clubs.
