In response to the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, General Motors is helping communities across the country, investing $2.65 million in 40 non-profits and supporting employee volunteer and donation efforts.
Included in these efforts is a $1 million grant to the DonorsChoose Keep Kids Learning plan, which provides $1,000 credits to 1,000 teachers in high-need school districts to help send basic resources like books, pencils, notebooks, food and cleaning supplies to students’ homes.
“When schools began closing last month, we surveyed over 4,000 teachers from the country’s highest-need districts and found that nearly 70 percent of their students lack resources to learn at home,” said Charles Best, DonorsChoose founder and CEO.
“The unfortunate reality is, when students cannot go to school, the resources available in their homes are going to shape their education, which means coronavirus threatens to widen educational inequity. We’re grateful for General Motors’ support of our Keep Kids Learning program, to help teachers prepare their students to continue learning at home,” Best said.
An additional $1.65 million in grant funding is going to GM facility communities across the country. Each facility dedicates funds to non-profits providing critical services to their communities such as food and housing assistance, small business support and at-home learning resources for parents, teachers and students.
More than 2,100 GM employees have also volunteered to join the effort:
- 931 salaried employees have volunteered to help manufacture and deliver critical PPE from GM’s Warren, Michigan facility to area hospitals.
- 178 employees have donated more than $14,000 to support United Way’s local COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Funds and the DonorsChoose Keep Kids Learning
- 1,051 employees and their friends and families have pledged to the American Red Cross SleevesUp campaign.
“We are working hard to make sure that everyone – from frontline and emergency response teams to teachers and families – has the resources they need to navigate this uncertain time,” Mark Reuss M President said.
About the DonorsChoose Keep Kids Learning
In the initial phase of Keep Kids Learning , DonorsChoose is reaching out to teachers who have previously used DonorsChoose at schools where nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, the national standard for measuring need within a school community. Eligible teachers receive $1,000 in funding credits to spend on educational resources to ship to their students’ homes. DonorsChoose is contacting teachers and issuing credits on a rolling basis as funds become available. To date, more than 2,200 teachers have participated in the program. The organization is also working to expand at-home learning support to more teachers and students, offering donors the chance to give to a specific teacher or community, similar to the traditional DonorsChoose model.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
COVID-19 – GM Gives $2.65 Million to 40 Non-Profits
In response to the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, General Motors is helping communities across the country, investing $2.65 million in 40 non-profits and supporting employee volunteer and donation efforts.
Included in these efforts is a $1 million grant to the DonorsChoose Keep Kids Learning plan, which provides $1,000 credits to 1,000 teachers in high-need school districts to help send basic resources like books, pencils, notebooks, food and cleaning supplies to students’ homes.
“When schools began closing last month, we surveyed over 4,000 teachers from the country’s highest-need districts and found that nearly 70 percent of their students lack resources to learn at home,” said Charles Best, DonorsChoose founder and CEO.
“The unfortunate reality is, when students cannot go to school, the resources available in their homes are going to shape their education, which means coronavirus threatens to widen educational inequity. We’re grateful for General Motors’ support of our Keep Kids Learning program, to help teachers prepare their students to continue learning at home,” Best said.
An additional $1.65 million in grant funding is going to GM facility communities across the country. Each facility dedicates funds to non-profits providing critical services to their communities such as food and housing assistance, small business support and at-home learning resources for parents, teachers and students.
More than 2,100 GM employees have also volunteered to join the effort:
“We are working hard to make sure that everyone – from frontline and emergency response teams to teachers and families – has the resources they need to navigate this uncertain time,” Mark Reuss M President said.
About the DonorsChoose Keep Kids Learning
In the initial phase of Keep Kids Learning , DonorsChoose is reaching out to teachers who have previously used DonorsChoose at schools where nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, the national standard for measuring need within a school community. Eligible teachers receive $1,000 in funding credits to spend on educational resources to ship to their students’ homes. DonorsChoose is contacting teachers and issuing credits on a rolling basis as funds become available. To date, more than 2,200 teachers have participated in the program. The organization is also working to expand at-home learning support to more teachers and students, offering donors the chance to give to a specific teacher or community, similar to the traditional DonorsChoose model.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.