USA - Ford continues to supply Funds, Vehicles and Meals on Wheels this thanksgiving, for the 8th year running.

• Ford Motor Company Fund joins forces with Detroit Area Agency on Aging (DAAA) to supply holiday meals to area seniors for the eighth consecutive year
• Ford employees and their families join community efforts to assemble and deliver hot Thanksgiving meals to over 6,000 homebound seniors
• Ford to provide $50,000 to DAAA as part of $1.5 million in financial support, grants, vehicles, and other assistance to hunger relief organizations in 2015, providing millions of meals coast to coast

Ford Motor Company is again teaming up with the Detroit Area Agency on Aging (DAAA) for the eighth consecutive year as part of the Holiday Meals on Wheels Thanksgiving program. Their efforts will ensure more than 6,000 area homebound seniors can enjoy a Thanksgiving Day meal.

Ford’s donation of $50,000 to DAAA not only goes to supply the food for Thanksgiving Meals, but it provides additional funding for the daily meal service throughout the year. Additionally, Ford employees and their families today assembled freshly prepared meals at Valley Services in Detroit.

“Ford Motor Company has provided more than 40,000 Thanksgiving meals through this program over the past eight years,” said Pamela Alexander, director, Community Development, Ford Motor Company Fund. “We believe it is vital to provide healthy meals not just during the holidays, but year round, which is why Ford invests in hunger relief programs here in Southeast Michigan and throughout the U.S.”

Ford Motor Company Fund helps strengthen communities by assisting hunger relief agencies year round and in many different ways – from Ford volunteers working at food banks to Ford’s nationwide network of more than 50 mobile food pantries that have distributed more than 6 million meals during the past five years.

Last month, Ford Fund and dealers in New England announced they will invest $2 million during the next five years to feed more people in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Ford Fund and Northwest Ford dealers are partnering once again to help feed hungry kids during the holiday period with grants topping $100,000 to be shared among 66 Boys & Girls Clubs.

“Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful and share with those we love and care about – especially our seniors, who are often alone on the holiday,” said Paul Bridgewater, DAAA president and CEO.  “That’s why we are thankful for the Ford Motor Company Fund. They are driving away hunger on Thanksgiving with their generous donation that enables us to deliver fresh, hot

traditional Thanksgiving meals to 6,000 seniors. It is not only a donation and the volunteers they’re supplying to DAAA, but a gift to our entire community.”

Each year, over 48 million people including 16 million children struggle with hunger in the United States. This holiday season Ford will also partner with The Parade Company to raise funds for Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan.

Ford Volunteer Corps is celebrating 10 years of community service that has contributed more than one million hours of support in 48 countries around the world. 

USA - Ford launches new Apollo edition Mustang to celebrate innovation and technology of the Apollo missions.

•  U.S. Apollo spaceflight program inspires one-of-a-kind 2015 Ford Mustang to be donated and sold at charity auction July 23 at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin
• Donation and sale will benefit EAA youth aviation education programs, including Young Eagles
• Unique Ford vehicles have raised nearly $3 million for EAA youth aviation programs, including Young Eagles

As far as special edition Mustangs go, this one is out of this world.

For the eighth straight year, Ford Motor Company has created a unique, aviation-inspired Ford Mustang to benefit Experimental Aircraft Association youth education programs, including the Young Eagles. The Apollo Edition Mustang will be donated and sold via auction at the Gathering of Eagles charity event, July 23, at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2015 – the World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration.

All proceeds from the sale of the car will benefit EAA youth education programs, including the Young Eagles, which has provided free introductory flights to more than 1.9 million young people since 1992, helping grow the next generation of aviators.

Ford serves as exclusive automotive sponsor of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2015, held July 20-26 this year at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

“The Apollo program delivered astonishing innovations in technology and achieved a national goal of landing the first human on the moon,” said Edsel B. Ford II, a member of the Ford board of directors. “The entire program was extraordinary – one of our nation’s greatest technological achievements. With this year’s stunning Apollo Edition Mustang, we salute that spirit of American ingenuity with the quintessential American automobile – Ford Mustang.”

Based on a 2015 fastback Ford Mustang GT, Ford design and engineering teams transformed the 5.0-liter pony car into the Apollo Edition Mustang – a truly unique and highly valued vehicle that will excite enthusiasts and collectors alike.

Led by Ford Design Manager Melvin Betancourt, the exterior features a one-of-a-kind glossy pure white and pure black non-production paint scheme that delivers a creative connection with the NASA Apollo program. The Apollo Edition Mustang features a carbon fiber front splitter, rear diffuser, rocker moldings and accent treatments, along with unique LED underbody lighting to symbolize atmospheric re-entry.

Performance enhancements include a performance package, Ford Performance supercharger and shifter, X-pipe with side and rear exhaust, sport-tuned suspension, six-piston Brembo brakes and custom Forgiato 21-inch performance wheels. This Mustang will deliver a heart-pounding 627 horsepower and 540 lb.-ft. of torque to provide an exhilarating, controlled launch for its new owner.

The theme carries into the cabin with exclusive interior details, including performance gauges, modified instrument cluster, unique sill plates and embroidered elements in seats, trim panels and floor mats.

The auction of the Apollo Edition Mustang will be the pinnacle of the EAA Gathering of Eagles gala. The event annually draws more than 1,000 aviation enthusiasts in support of EAA youth education programs, which inspire young people to become engineers, aviators, astronauts, scientists and innovators – the aviation pioneers of tomorrow.

“Ford has been a committed sponsor of EAA and AirVenture for more than 15 years – bringing incredible value to those who make Oshkosh the highlight of their aviation year,” said Jack Pelton, EAA chairman of the board. “With its eighth Mustang donation, Ford continues to excite with its specialty vehicles, which reflect the depth of the company’s commitment and which allow EAA to provide support to its valuable programs and dedicated members in helping us grow the next generation of aviators.”

The Apollo Edition Mustang joins seven other one-of-a-kind Mustangs created by the Ford design and engineering teams for the auction in support of EAA youth education. Ford vehicles donated at EAA AirVenture events have collectively raised nearly $3 million.

The unique vehicles that support EAA youth education programs including Young Eagles, are:

• 2008 – Mustang AV8R, with cues from F-22 Raptor, which helped introduce the glass-roof canopy and delivered an auction contribution of $500,000
• 2009 – AV-X10 “Dearborn Doll” Mustang, crafted in honor of the World War II aircraft
• 2010 – Two automotive icons – the late Carroll Shelby, former U.S. Air Force flight instructor, and Jack Roush, longtime P-51 pilot – collaborated for the first time to create the SR-71 Blackbird Mustang inspired by legendary reconnaissance jet
• 2011 – Blue Angels Mustang, created to celebrate 100 years of U.S. naval aviation
• 2012 – Red Tails Mustang, to pay homage to Tuskegee Airmen – courageous squadron of P-51 Mustang pilots who were the United States’ first African American military airmen
•  2013 – U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Edition Mustang, built to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team
• 2014 – F-35 Lightning Edition II Mustang, which featured design cues from the world’s most advanced multirole fighter jet – the F-35 Lightning

The Apollo Edition Mustang will proudly be on display all week in the Ford hangar at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2015. To participate in the auction, interested parties must prequalify by contacting the EAA development office, (800) 236-1025 or donor@eaa.org.

The Apollo Edition Mustang was modified by MAD Industries, led by Chris Mangum. Interior enhancements were designed by Ford’s Betancourt and Nicole Rush, and created in-house by Ford’s design fabrication team. Additional contributors to the project include Ford Performance, Eibach Springs, Carbon 2 Carbon, BASF automotive refinish, Gibson performance exhaust, Pirelli tires, Forgiato wheels, Rigid Industries LED lighting, SourceSE by sPod, 3M window film, PIAA Corporation, Brembo, APR performance, FOCAL/The Source AV and Odyssey battery.