Ford College Community Challenge Boosts Sustainability, Student Innovation with $250,000 in Grants
October 07 2015 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
- Ford Motor Company Fund, the
philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company, is awarding $250,000 in
Ford College Community Challenge (Ford C3) grants for student-led
projects
- The U.S. program is in its eighth year
of supporting sustainable efforts to address urgent community needs
focused on “Building Sustainable Communities”
- Ford C3 continues to grow in the U.S.,
expanding to include Tribal Colleges, and also is extending its
reach globally to include Brazil, China, and several African
nations
Twelve years ago Brian Fountaine was a tank commander on patrol
in Iraq when two bombs exploded under his Humvee, taking both of
his legs and nearly killing him. Today, Brian is a design student
at Northeastern University using 3D printing technology to develop
high-quality, less-expensive prosthetic limbs for veterans and
other amputees.
The work of Brian and his team is one of 10 student-led
sustainability projects awarded a 2015 Ford College Community
Challenge (Ford C3) grant from Ford Motor Company Fund. Ford C3
recognizes colleges and universities for utilizing school resources
and student participation to address an urgent community need under
the theme: Building Sustainable Communities.
Ford C3 winners are required to present proposals for
sustainable projects with significant student input, involvement
and leadership. Water conservation, renewable energy, urban
gardening, recycling and mobility are among the proposals submitted
by these creative teams of students. Each of the winning projects
will receive a $25,000 grant to support their project.
“Innovation and sustainability are two essential elements that
will help strengthen communities and improve the quality of life
for the people who call them home,” said Mike Schmidt, director of
Education and Community Development, Ford Motor Company Fund.
“Education is how we open the door to a better world and inspire a
new generation of engineers and entrepreneurs to lead us into a
successful future.”
The Ford C3 grants are part of more than $1.7 million in new and
ongoing global educational investments by Ford Fund, which
contributes more than $8 million annually in scholarships, grants
and other initiatives. Ford Fund is the philanthropic arm of Ford
Motor Company.
Ford Fund this year also worked with the American Indian College
Fund to run a C3 program with Tribal Colleges and Universities in
the U.S. for the first time, while also continuing the Ford
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Community
Challenge. Ford C3 last year launched in Brazil and China, and
expanded this year to include Ghana, Kenya, Morocco and South
Africa.
Campus Compact, a national higher education association
dedicated to campus-based civic engagement, again partnered with
Ford Fund in the U.S. to inform some 600 schools about this year’s
grant program.
2015 Winning U.S.-Based
Projects
- Rocky Mountain College - Billings,
Montana: Broken Glass to Working Class Students will combat
homelessness by teaching homeless citizens to recycle and repurpose
glass waste, while also learning marketable job skills and keeping
glass waste out of landfills.
- Northeastern University - Boston:
Designing for Mobility of Veteran Amputees This project
utilizes 3D printing technology to develop prosthetic limbs for
veterans and others.
- Wayne State University - Detroit:
Ford Warrior STEAM Saturday Challenge Detroit K-12 students and
their families will participate in the Warrior STEAM – Science,
Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math – Challenge. Participants
will use STEAM skills to solve community-based problems or create a
finished product to better the community.
- University of Georgia - Athens,
Georgia: Hands and Hooves for a More Sustainable Community
Building on their 2014 Ford C3 award-winning project, the Chew Crew
will complete a mobile shelter/outdoor classroom and restore two
landscapes using goats to eat invasive plant species.
- Morehouse College - Atlanta:
Mentoring Youth Entrepreneurship Club Innovation Lab This
project will create a maker space, Innovation Lab to provide
students with the tools and resources to take creative ideas
through the engineering and design processes.
- Michigan Technological University -
Houghton, Michigan: Plastic Recycling to 3D Printer Filament
Team will work with the local community to incorporate a wider
variety of plastics into recycled filament, and upgrade machinery
to use this recycled product to produce the filament.
- Michigan State University - East
Lansing, Michigan: Rainwater Catchment for Primary School in
Buyuni, Tanzania In Tanzania a rainwater water collection
system is necessary to obtain precious water. This project focuses
on capturing rainwater at a primary school in Buyuni, Tanzania,
filtering the water, and then storing it for use by the wider
community.
- University of Wisconsin - Madison:
Slow Food South Madison Partnerships for Sustainability This
proposal seeks to increase the distribution of affordable, healthy
food in an underserved area, making the existing Growing Power
Market Basket Program more accessible in Madison.
- University of Michigan - Ann Arbor:
Fostering Environmental and Community Ownership in Vila Santa
Marta, Brazil Project is to counter the results of trash
dumping in public places in Vila Santa Marta, Brazil by deterring
dumping, increasing communication, building community pride and
improving security.
- Wayne State University - Detroit:
From Volunteering to Career Paths - Student Leadership in Community
Food Systems This project will engage students in hands‐on
internships with community-based partners, to enhance skills and
expand knowledge and thereby help further their careers in
community food systems.
To view this year’s winning U.S. projects and get more
information please visit: www.fordscholars.org/contests/ford-c3
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.
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Ford Motor Company FundTodd
Nissen313.322.4898tnissen@ford.com
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