Operation Good Cheer | Ford Volunteer Corps

A not-so-secret secret bubbles to the surface of employee chatter around Ford during the holidays each year — Operation Good Cheer. This goodwill collaboration between Ford and Children and Family Charities has a long and almost magical history.

In 1971, a Ford photographer, Constantine “Taki” George Kortidis (November 1, 1937 - June 25, 2008) challenged fellow co-workers at Ford to do something more meaningful than merely exchange greeting cards in the spirit of the holidays. They responded by giving Taki a small sum of money and asked him to find an appropriate charity. He partnered with Children and Family Charities to provide gifts to 66 children in Michigan’s foster care system. That spark of camaraderie, collaboration, and commitment ignited the movement Operation Good Cheer that continues today.

This year, on December 3, Operation Good Cheer filled the holiday wish lists of over 6600 children residing in out-of-home placements across Michigan thanks to the support of 252 donor groups, families, and individuals, and the partnership of 31 companies who helped transport gifts by truck or plane and the generosity of 36 local airports that expanded their operations and capacity on delivery day.

The Ford Volunteer Corps has funded and guided this effort since 2018. This year thousands of Ford employees volunteered in some capacity — whether donating or wrapping gifts, driving semi-trailers to transport gifts to the airport hanger, sorting presents at the airport hanger, or piloting one of the planes to deliver the gifts to the far corners of Michigan.

Todd Brooks, one of the pilots and a Ford employee, has been volunteering with Operation Good Cheer since 1995. In addition to flying his own plane, Todd coordinates Ford Volunteer logistics, which includes volunteer pilots from Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. When Todd reflects on his first year and what fuels his passion for this project, he recalls the impact of the first wish list he read and the impact of people coming together for this very human experience:

“The very first child wish list I saw in 1995 was for a 13-year-old boy hoping to get a sewing kit to mend his pants. The circumstances that lead to foster care for these children are inconceivable for most of us, it really serves as an incredible grounding. Undeniably, seeing the element of people coming together and the level of true teamwork required to pull this off, well it reminds me of my military service. There is also a genuine caring for each other, just like my teams took care of me, while I was deployed overseas…that’s been a genuine Ford theme since Taki started this effort in 1971.”

Sherry Brackenwagen, Director of Development of Operation Good Cheer, Child and Family Charities, leads the team behind the well-orchestrated logistics that make Operation Good Cheer so successful. “It’s tremendous — a year-round process, really. The team begins in May by reaching out to the 93 social service agencies around Michigan,” Sherry explains. “Even after 20 years, it still touches my heart.”

This year, the main airport hangar was packed with 21,000 gifts from donors to fulfill wish lists for children across Michigan. Sherry knew it would require all hands on deck and she also knew, “[she] could count on Ford volunteers.”

Throughout the year, Ford Fund leads the Ford Volunteer Corps providing opportunities for employees to engage with what’s most important to them in their communities. To learn about other opportunities or how to find ways to utilize 16 hours of paid community service, please visit. MOBILIZING VOLUNTEERS (fordfund.org)

Read more about Operation Good Cheer from Carol Cain, Free Press Business Columnist