Nearly 1,800 Ford Finance team members from around the world came together for the first Global Finance Community Service Day.

"Everyone wants to make a meaningful impact; they just need the right opportunity to match their skills and passions," said Sreeni Janakiraman, Global Raw Materials Controller, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, who led the first Ford Finance Community Service Day event in India.

This year, nearly 1,800 Ford Finance team members from around the world participated in the Global Finance Community Service Day. What began as a U.S.-based event in 2023 has grown into a worldwide movement, giving employees the opportunity to give back in ways that resonate with them. Reflecting on the event's success, Dennis Barrish, Ford Global Warranty Controller and a volunteer event lead, shared, "It was inspiring to so easily find people from every corner of the globe eager to lead and volunteer."

In Detroit, Barrish led a friendly competition at Belle Isle Park, where 250 participants challenged each other to collect the most garbage. "The best part of this event is seeing so many colleagues mobilized across projects and having fun while making a difference," Barrish shared.

Making Waves in India

In India, Janakiraman's team of over 150 volunteers collected 250 kg (551 lbs) of beach garbage in just over an hour, moved by the opportunity to prevent microplastics from harming local wildlife. "It was heartwarming to witness the impact of our work to protect the environment and sea turtles," Janakiraman reflected. Ford India achieved its largest single-day volunteer effort, with 715 volunteers contributing over 1,900 hours across 12 activities, including road safety awareness, school support, and LGBTQIA+ community mentoring, reaching around 5,000 community members. 

Ford Finance teams in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand and the United Kingdom also took part in the day, planting trees, organizing children's libraries, packing food at food banks, and more.

Looking ahead, the Ford Finance team is excited to build on this momentum into 2025. "This event showed once again that we are one global team," Janakiraman noted.

To learn more about how you can organize a volunteer day with your team or apply up to 16 hours of paid community service, reach out to us at volunteer@ford.com and consider volunteering during Global Caring Month this September.