Hundreds of Ford Volunteers Mobilise in Valencia to Support Flood Relief Efforts
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Ford Volunteers Mobilise in Valencia
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|Ford Volunteers Mobilise in Valencia
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|Firefighters from Valencia are working in 12-hour shifts to restore access.
VALENCIA, Spain – Ford colleagues from Valencia have been mobilising in droves to help those affected by the widespread devastation caused by flash floods in the region.
More than 200 people are now believed to have lost their lives, while many areas are still inaccessible to emergency responders.
Ford Philanthropy working with their international grant making partner GlobalGiving has set up a Spain Flood Relief Fund to help survivors with emergency aid and long-term support.
As reported on @Ford last week, Ford Philanthropy working with their international grant making partner GlobalGiving has pledged $100,000 donation to help disaster relief efforts.
Daniel Ruiz, Director Valencia Site Operations, explains: “At Ford we are proud of the hundreds of Ford Valencia employees who, from the very first moment, have lent their help and with whom we have coordinated the collaboration with different organisations and NGOs. The first steps taken so far have been actions of economic support, volunteering, provision of storage logistics and vehicle transfer among other initiatives, to which new aid is continually being added as requests and applications are received from associations and organisations of all kinds.
“We have prioritised the provision of different vehicles, such as the Red Cross Spain or World Central Kitchen, a non-governmental non-profit organisation dedicated to supplying meals around the world after natural disasters, and led by chef José Andrés.
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Ford Volunteers Mobilise in Valencia
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|Ford Volunteers Mobilise in Valencia
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|Supplying and distrubuting food -
|Ford Volunteers Mobilise in Valencia
“Also with the Red Cross, in coordination with the Generalitat Valenciana, we have facilitated the storage of supplies, providing the warehouses of our factory to create a special center at the Ford Almussafes plant for the reception and distribution of aid trucks.
“Also, Ford Spain created a volunteer platform in Almussafes organised and composed of hundreds of company employees, to provide support according to requests to all kinds of NGOs, municipalities or state forces, with special attention to the distribution of food. Some of the associations to carry out this volunteering have been Ayuda A Una Familia and Mensajeros De La Paz, and the already mentioned Red Cross and WCK.”
Meanwhile, the fire department at Ford’s Almussafes facility has been providing uninterrupted support to flood relief efforts, working 12-hour shifts in coordination with the UME and the Valencia Fire Brigade Consortium.
Other special actions have been the purchase, in collaboration with the supplier Grupo Iturri, of water boots, safety material and clothes that have been delivered to NGOs and City Councils.
“We have also had the support of the Ford dealerships in the Levante area, to whom we are very grateful for their prompt involvement,” Daniel added.