FORD “PROUD TO HONOR” MERCHANDISE SALES TO BENEFIT DISABLED AMERICAN VETS, BLUE STAR FAMILIES

TO further its Proud to Honor initiative and strengthen its decades-long relationship with the U.S. military, Ford launched an online store stocked with merchandise to raise money for two nonprofit military organizations. Ford will give 100% of its profits from sales of Proud to Honor merchandise—available at fordproudtohonor.com/store—to Disabled American Veterans (DAV), an organization established following World War I that helps more than 1 million veterans every year access the healthcare and benefits they earned through military service, and Blue

Star Families, a national organization dedicated to strengthening America’s military families through community building.

“You can never do too much to honor the service of these brave men and women, and you never stop trying,” said Mark Laneve, Ford vice president, U.S. marketing, sales and service. “That’s what Proud to Honor does: It never stops trying. This online store is just one example of a year-round effort to support these families who are so deserving.”

Available merchandise includes T-shirts, hats, bags, tumblers and more. Contributing to two organizations such as DAV and Blue Star Families continues the decades-long support Ford has shown for U.S. service members.

“Ford has been a valuable friend and partner to DAV for nearly a century, since Henry Ford provided 50 Model T Ford vehicles to help disabled World War I veterans attend the organization’s second national convention in 1922,” said DAV National Adjutant Marc Burgess. “We are humbled and grateful to be a part of the Proud to Honor initiative aimed at improving the lives of veterans and their families.”

Blue Star Families echoed that sentiment.

“We are honored to be a beneficiary of the Proud to

Honor initiative,” said Kathy Roth-douquet, CEO of Blue Star Families. “Because of caring partners like Ford, which fund our efforts, we can help military families plant deep roots and foster meaningful connections within their local communities

– no matter where their service takes them.”

In addition to browsing the new merchandise, visitors to the Proud to Honor website will find details of other work Ford is doing with the U.S. military and its service members. The website features impact stories, military incentives and more.

Ford launched the Proud to Honor initiative last fall to strengthen its long-standing relationship with U.S. service members. Earlier this year, Proud to Honor worked closely with Vanessa Benson, retired army colonel, to donate more than 200,000 face shields to U.S. military bases around the world, part of the company’s response to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic.