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The General Motors Foundation

Autor:   •  February 7, 2019  •  2,579 Words (11 Pages)  •  621 Views

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Additionally, a large portion of GM’s STEM support arises from its Buick Achievers Scholarships which offers scholarships worth up to $25,000 per year for engineering students, giving away more than $42 million since 2007 (General motors, 2016). The scholarship program is recognized as one of the largest in the country with an emphasis on “women, minorities and students known for excelling in the classroom and giving back their community” (General motors, 2016). Every scholarship that is awarded can be renewed for up to four years as long as the recipient stays in good standing with his/her education institution. In 2013, the GM Foundation awarded 1,100 students studying the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics scholarships totaling $4.2 million (Indian Banking News, 2013). Aside from the financial support that the foundation provides it has implemented its FIRST program which provides a mentor program for Detroit area students to grow in their education and to learn of opportunities in the automotive industry (General motors, 2016). Mentor programs are becoming increasingly popular with employers so providing the opportunity to have a mentor prior to entering the workforce and network with several professionals will open new doors for students.

Safety

The safety portion of the GM Foundation is focused on three programs: Safe Kids Buckle Up, the National Safety Council, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) (General motors, 2016). Safe Kids Buck Up is a worldwide organization founded in 1997 which receives all of its funding from General Motors and the GM Foundation. General Motors explains its focus in the program on its website, “Our efforts include child safety in and around cars, as well as advocating for stronger state child passenger safety laws. To date, Safe Kids has inspected 1.8 million car seats for proper installation” (General motors, 2016). The second area of focus is the National Safety Council that provides resources to parents in an effort to help teens get experience in the driver’s seat and become safer on the roads. Specific programs that the GM foundation has supported are Drive It Home, Steer Your Teen Down the Right Road, and the Teen Driving Safety Leadership Award (General motors, 2016). Offering these resources enables parents to have important conversations about driving habits with their children that could be lifesaving. Lastly, the Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been supported by the foundation for more than 20 years working to stop drinking and driving. The most recent project funded was the Power of Parents program aimed towards assisting parents in talking to their children about underage drinking because studies show that parental influence can reduce the risk of underage drinking by 30 percent (General motors, 2016). All of these programs have become extremely important in educating young drivers as the number of fatal drunk driving incidents increase affecting entire communities.

Community

General Motors Company has long grounded its roots deep into the city of Detroit and the company understands the importance of keeping the community alive and healthy. Numerous projects have been completed around the city of Detroit with a great need resulting from the 2007/2008 recession which left many automakers in financial trouble. Some of the contributions that the GM Foundation has made to the community include: supporting disaster relief across the country; funding various art and music organizations in the Detroit Area; working with other automakers to back the ‘Grand Bargain’; and to help Habitat for Humanity build homes in Detroit and across the country.

After the country was shaken following the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks the GM Foundation took it upon itself to help in the recovery. The foundation donated $250,000 to the American Red Cross in addition to matching employee donations dollar-for-dollar and supplying a fleet of trucks, vans and SUVs (Booth, 2001). In 2002, the GM Foundation was exposed for playing a role in supporting the arts in Detroit through the Detroit Opera, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the Detroit Institute of the Arts (DIA) having given $2.1 million to the arts (Sisario, 2002). The General Motors buyout didn’t slow down the foundation because in 2013 it provided $350,000 for music education to the Detroit Symphony Opera after a long standing relationship nearly $1.5 million in contributions up to that point (General Motors, 2013). After the City of Detroit went bankrupt a plan called the ‘Grand Bargain’ was crafted and the General Motors Foundation provided $5 million in addition to General Motor’s $5 million towards the city’s pensions in exchange for relocating the DIA’s collection to a charitable trust (Shields, 2014). The DIA contains thousands of original paintings and other forms of art which were to be sold in order to fund some city operations after the bankruptcy, but with the help of the GM Foundation and other automakers all of the artwork can still be seen by the public.

Beyond the art world, the General Motors Foundation graciously contributes to the care of men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. During Military Awareness Month of 2015, the GM Foundation gave a $1 million grant to Habitat for Humanity, which would go towards building eleven new homes for current and former service members living anywhere from New York, Michigan, California, Texas, and more (General Motors, 2015). Supporting Habitat for Humanity was not new for the GM Foundation as it has partnered with the organization for many years to complete projects near its operations.

teamGM Cares

General Motors employees have long been known for their commitment to their communities, but in 2011 teamGM Cares was formed and boosted this effort by setting aside time for employees to become even more involved. The first big project for the organization was to help those in need in Southeastern Michigan accompanying a $27.1 million grant to the United Way that served this area (General motors, 2016). Some of the extended projects that have been taken on by teamGM Cares include mentoring, conducting food/personal care drives, collecting mittens and money for school kids, hosting career days and adopting families during the holidays (General motors, 2016). As a part of the GM Foundation, teamGM Cares has also played a part in helping those recovering from natural disasters. After Hurricane Sandy hit the New Jersey coast teamGM Cares and the GM Foundation donated 24 Express vans to Habitat for Humanity to form its first fleet of mobile response units which we loaded with tools and supplies before heading to many devastated communities

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