GM Celebrates Service with "TeamGM Cares Week"

Fourth annual U.S. employee volunteer initiative begins Monday

DETROIT -- Sept. 12, 2015: From packing boxes at food banks to delivering gifts to children’s hospitals and cleaning up neighborhoods, more than 1,900 General Motors’ employee volunteers will participate in nearly 100 community service projects across the U.S. as part of the company’s fourth annual “teamGM Cares Week” beginning Monday.

“Our employees are passionate about giving back year round, both in dollars and time,” said Heidi Magyar, director of GM Community Outreach Programs. “teamGM Cares Week is an annual opportunity for us to rally together in support of the communities across the country in which we live and work.”

GM employees will participate in service projects in across the country, including Detroit, home of the company’s global headquarters

“I am always grateful for the incredible support we receive from our corporate supporters, especially during teamGM Cares Week,” said Mike Khoury, president of Detroit Cristo Rey High School and participant in the Southwest Detroit Junction Street effort, where more than 170 employees will be joined by local businesses and community groups to remove blight, garbage and graffiti.

“It has served as a shining example of what happens when businesses and community members join together and commit to a cause,” Khoury said.

Other highlight events include:

Arizona

• Sept. 14: Nearly 100 employees from GM’s IT Innovation Center in Chandler, Ariz. will stuff bears at Build-A-Bear and spend a day delivering them to children at Cardon Children’s Medical Center.

Michigan

• Sept. 14-18: 673 employees will lead 17 projects at Gleaners Community Food Bank’s Warren, Detroit and Pontiac distribution centers.
• Sept. 16-18: 187 employees will pack family food boxes at Forgotten Harvest’s Oak Park warehouse and harvest vegetables at the organization’s farm in Fenton.
• Sept. 14-18: 173 volunteers will participate in 18 projects at Grace Centers of Hope in Pontiac ranging from home rebuilds, lot clean-ups, painting, gardening and child care.

Ohio

• Sept. 17: Employee volunteers from GM’s Parma Metal Center will spend time at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.

Tennessee

• Sept. 16: More than 30 employees from GM’s Spring Hill Assembly Plant will take over volunteer build activity with Habitat for Humanity.

Texas

• Sept. 15: Volunteers from GM’s IT Innovation Center in Austin will prepare and serve breakfast and lunch for families at the Ronald McDonald House in Austin.

Throughout the year, thousands of teamGM Cares Volunteers participate in numerous projects and dedicate their time and resources to many organizations across the country. In August, 3,400 Detroit-area GM employees participated in cleanup efforts in Detroit’s Osborn neighborhood with Life Remodeled. Employees mentor youth, conduct food drives, participate in charity home-building projects and assist with disaster relief efforts and more.

As an added incentive through the company’s “Dollars for Doers” program, the GM Foundation provides a $200 grant per year to eligible nonprofits each time an employee or employee team contributes 50 hours of service to the organization.

To learn more, visit Team GM Cares. For more information on the charitable giving of the GM Foundation, visit GM Foundation.