Ford expands Ford Driving Dreams program to Panama

Ford Motor Co. Fund is expanding its Ford Driving Dreams educational tour to its first international market with a program in Panama that will teach more than 300 young teens skills to keep them in school.

“For more than 100 years, Ford Motor Co. has worked to make a better world for the communities where we do business,” Ford Motor Co. Fund and Community Services President Jim Vella said. “The vitality and growth of every nation depends in great part on educating our young people, and we are excited to bring our innovative program for helping kids stay in school to Panama.”

Ford and Ford Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Co., launched the Ford Driving Dreams Tour in Panama last week. The tour is an education initiative delivering more than $50,000 in motivational activities, school grants and scholarships designed to prevent students from dropping out of school. Ford is collaborating on the tour with United Way Panama and the Ministry of Education of Panama.

“We are very pleased that Ford selected Panama as the first internationalMARKET to launch the Ford Driving Dreams Tour,” Carlos Staff, vice minister of education of Panama, said. “This will be a transformative experience for our students and we commend Ford for their global corporate citizenship and the impact they will make in Panama with this initiative.”