Nihala Thanikkal, left, and Christiana Lumaj both welcomed the opportunity to improve living conditions in the Detroit area through Ford’s “Thirty Under 30” program.
Community Matters
Ford’s younger employees can apply for a year-long program that enables them to use job skills to help solve pressing issues, from hunger to homelessness, in their communities.
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Can dedicating an hour a week to charity work make a difference? Millennials certainly think so. In fact, the majority spend at least 60 minutes every seven days donating their time and brain power to causes they care about. It’s no surprise then that Ford’s “Thirty Under 30,” a year-long philanthropic leadership program started by Executive Chairman Bill Ford (great-grandson of Henry) in 2016, received more than 300 applications this year. Among the applicants was Christiana Lumaj, a member of the Communications team, who was inspired by the work that the 2017 fellows, including engineer Nihala Thanikkal, did through the program.
Watch how Ford’s youngest employees learn to think big to help their communities though participation in the year-long “Thirty Under 30” program.
Once admitted to the competitive program, Lumaj and 29 peers from departments across the company were introduced to the concept of “design thinking” by the Henry Ford Learning Institute. The problem-solving approach encourages creativity, collaboration, and empathy. “One huge thing that we talk about constantly is how many times you see homeless people on the street and pass by them,” she says. “Treating them with dignity can do wonders.”
Lumaj and her peers are working with six nonprofits that provide shelter and affordable housing to local residents in both Detroit and Canada. Her team was assigned to Cass Community Social Services in Detroit, which has overseen a successful Tiny Homes project along the Cass Corridor. The project, still in progress, involves building 25 homes on individual lots that house low-income tenants. After seven years, tenants are given the opportunity to buy their property. It is just one of many ways that the nonprofit helps those in need find housing, food, healthcare and jobs. During the research phase of “Thirty Under 30,” Christiana’s team is spending time interacting with both the staff and clients of Cass Community Social Services to better understand the nonprofit’s many programs and service offerings so they can determine which they think will benefit from their collective knowledge and insights. “I think they’re going to formulate a great solution around homelessness that will be of use in Detroit and across the country,” says Reverend Faith Fowler, the nonprofit’s Executive Director.
Learn how participants in the Ford “Thirty Under 30” program are honing in on executable housing solutions for those in their community.
The 2017 fellows focused on food insecurity, both a local and national issue that impacts individuals who don’t always know where the next meal is coming from. The fellows divided into teams that worked with different non-profits, all of which work to abate the problem in southeast Michigan.
Nihala Thanikkal, an engineer who moved to the U.S. from India when she was 9 months old, says the idea of giving back to community was ingrained in her at an early age. After observing that many low-income families have access to food, but not always to nutritious options, she and her team came up with the idea to turn a Ford F-150 truck into a mobile farm with a garden planted in its bed.
The truck makes stops at local grade schools so children can learn about nutrition and farming. “When we did a demo at one afterschool program, the kids pulled radishes out of the dirt and were excited to try them,” she recalls.
The second component of the project is a hydroponic container garden, housed at the Cass Community Social Services. “The garden will allow residents access to fresh produce year-round,” explains Reverend Fowler.
See how some of last year’s “Thirty Under 30” fellows found a way to teach community members about the benefits of growing their own produce.
Rather than just clocking hours as volunteers, the “Thirty Under 30” fellows use their technical job skills to make a real difference in Detroit’s future. “It’s our duty to give back,” says Lumaj. “It’s important for those who haven’t been as fortunate to see there’s a community around them that wants to offer support.”
