Ford Targets HBCUs for Unique Community Challenge Competition

Ford Motor Company and Ford Motor Company Fund are reaching out to students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities for the first Ford HBCU Community Challenge Competition. Up to $75,000 in scholarships, university and community grants will be awarded for the first-place student team and its project.

The Ford HBCU Community Challenge is an extension of one of the Ford Fund’s signature educational programs, “The Ford College Community Challenge.” The new program, conducted in partnership with the “Tom Joyner” and “Rickey Smiley Morning Shows,” encourages HBCU students to design community projects that address pressing local needs. The program’s theme is “Building Sustainable Communities.”

Students are encouraged to creatively address a tangible, unmet community need that touches at least one of these four areas: Mobility, Alternative Energy, Sustainability/Water and Systematic Approaches to Meeting Community Needs. Scholarships will be awarded to the student team, and community grants will be awarded to nonprofits to support implementation of the winning projects.

The four teams with the best ideas will be flown to Ford World Headquarters in December to present their ideas for final judging.

“We are thrilled to be able to continue in our efforts to support students attending HBCUs with the launch

of this program,” said Shawn Thompson, manager, Ford Multicultural Marketing. “This program will allow students to make a difference in their education, schools and ultimately their communities.”

Interested students can learn more about and enter the competition by visiting www.blackamericaweb.com/hbcuchallenge or www.rickeysmileymorningshow.com/hbcuchallenge between now and Nov. 10.