Ford and United Auto Workers Local 862 Donate $100,000 to Construct New Retreat Center for Local Military, First Responders

CORYDON, IN., April 6, 2013 – Ford and United Auto Workers Local 862 officials broke ground today on a new retreat center which will provide overnight housing accommodations for wounded service members, first responders and their families from across the Kentuckiana area.

Approximately $100,000 in capital and labor will be donated by Ford and the UAW to construct the center on the campus of local nonprofit Hero Reward.

Hero Reward owns a two hundred acre facility in Corydon, Indiana that offers outdoor excursion retreats for wounded veterans and their families at no charge. The organization was founded in September of 2011 and hosts approximately fifty wounded heroes and their families each year.

"This joint effort of Ford, UAW, and the local community will help Hero Reward provide top notch healing services and therapeutic results. Hundreds and hundreds of America's finest will reap the rewards of this project," said Rodney Bruce, founder and CEO of Hero Reward.

The new 2,200 square foot, two story retreat center will expand the number of veterans served by providing four overnight separate guest quarters, as well as a handicap-accessible bathroom, new kitchen and wrap around porch.

 Members of the UAW Local 862 from Kentucky Truck and Louisville Assembly Plants are expected to volunteer 800 hours to build the facility, which will be completed in approximately 4 to 6 weeks.

"This donation goes a long way in giving local wounded veterans a new center for relaxation and recuperation," said Marty Mulloy, Vice President, Labor Affairs, Ford Motor Company. "The construction started today will have an impact on our community for years."

Supporting the nation's wounded military veterans has been a priority for Ford since Henry Ford first organized a cross-country caravan of 50 Model T Fords to take disabled veterans to the 1922 national Disabled American Veterans conference in San Francisco.

“This community project between the UAW and Ford Motor Company symbolizes the true and genuine compassion for our men and women in uniform who safeguard our families both here in America and abroad," said United Auto Workers Vice-President Jimmy Settles.

"It's a privilege for the UAW to partner in this joint community effort to provide a retreat center for those whose service has protected our great nation," said United Auto Workers Region 8 Director Gary Casteel.