LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 31, 2012) — Ford Motor Co. and UAW Local 862 announced this week a $50,000 donation to the Metro United Way for the Wayne Vickers Memorial Wheel Chair Ramp Project in Louisville to build 25 wheelchair ramps for disabled residents across the city. In addition to the monetary donations, a team of more than 50 UAW volunteers are planning to provide over 2,000 hours of labor to construct the wheelchair ramps.
Funding for the wheelchair ramp materials was raised by the employees from Kentucky Truck Plant and the Louisville Assembly Plant. Each ramp is constructed out of treated wood and metal materials and costs between $1,000 and $3,000.
The Ramp Project was established this year to encourage the construction of wheel chair ramps for disabled workers in the Louisville community. Recipients of the program are chosen by The Center for Accessible Living.
The announcement was made at a residential home in the southwest of Louisville, where UAW members were finishing construction on the program’s 10th wheelchair ramp. In addition to Ford Labor Affairs Vice-President Marty Mulloy and United Auto Workers Vice-President Jimmy Settles, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer attended and expressed pride in the project.
“Ford is committed to making a difference in the communities where we do business,” said Marty Mulloy, Ford vice president of Labor Affairs, North America Manufacturing. “We are proud to work with our UAW partners to help local families have greater mobility and self-sufficiency through this project.”
“These ramps will make a huge difference in the lives of the recipients — they are paths to productivity and inclusiveness,” Fischer said. “This partnership between UAW-Ford, Metro United Way and the Center for Accessible Living is exactly the kind of creative compassion and effective coalitions we are working to build in Louisville.”
Ford/UAW Local 862 Joint Fund donations to Louisville area organizations supporting children and education, veterans, health, hunger relief and tornado disaster relief are expected to top $1.2 million in 2012.
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