General Motors Foundation And Chevrolet Help Distressed Neighborhoods

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The General Motors Foundation is providing a $1 million grant to Habitat for Humanity International to help with neighborhood revitalization efforts in 12 U.S. cities. The grant was presented Thursday by Foundation President and GM Director of Corporate Relations Vivian Pickard during the Washington Auto Show.

From financial support for new construction, home repair and rehabilitation, weatherization efforts and more, the GM Foundation's support of Habitat means that work will be underway in neighborhoods in Arlington and Austin, Texas; Atlanta; Baltimore; Chicago; Denver; Detroit and Lansing, Mich.; Los Angeles; Nashville; New Orleans and Phoenix.

"This grant will help construct healthier neighborhoods and an improved sense of community," said Pickard. "In addition to the Foundation's grant, our teamGM Cares employee volunteers will help low-income families rebuild and restore their homes and participate in other vital community projects."

In December, Chevrolet donated to Habitat for Humanity International 24 Express cargo vans to create the organization's first-ever fleet of mobile response units. The vehicles, filled with tools and equipment from Lowe's and Robert Bosch Tool Corporation, are currently dispatched with volunteers assisting with Hurricane Sandy response efforts in New York and New Jersey.

"General Motors has already joined Habitat for Humanity to address a critical need following Hurricane Sandy," said Larry Gluth, senior vice president of US & Canada operations for Habitat for Humanity International. "Today, the company is building on its commitment, and we are very grateful to the GM Foundation for its generosity." 

Upon delivering the Habitat for Humanity mobile response units to the impacted region, teamGM Cares volunteers worked in a number of locations, including at the flood-ravaged Union Beach Emergency Medical Services station in Union Beach, N.J. The experience inspired Chevrolet's donation of a 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe to the Union Beach EMS squad that was on the front lines during Hurricane Sandy. Chevy Regional Director Dan Adamcheck announced the vehicle donation to Union Beach EMS Chief Carlos Rodriguez from the Chevrolet exhibit at the Washington Auto Show.

"The Chevrolet Tahoe will serve as a daily reminder that the citizens of Union Beach have not been forgotten," said Rodriguez. "We extend our heartfelt thanks to Chevrolet and to the teamGM Cares volunteers for traveling with us on the long road to recovery."

In addition to the GM Foundation and Chevrolet's support of Habitat for Humanity, GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson this month sold his Regal Turquoise 1958 Corvette in the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction for $270,000 with all proceeds benefitting Habitat for Humanity Detroit's projects in the Morningside Commons neighborhood. Last year, Akerson and his wife, Karin, personally donated $1 million as the cornerstone contribution for the "Leaders to ReBuild Detroit" campaign.

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