GM employees in Tonawanda support children in Ukraine (07/20/03)

GM employees in Tonawanda support children in Ukraine

TONAWANDA, N.Y. - The Profes-sional Managers Network (PMN) at the General Motors Tonawanda Engine plant recently conducted a two-day gate collection, resulting in a $2,200 cash donation as well as three minivans full of toys sent to Operation Mercy.

The children who received these toys in Ukraine are located primarily in the Zhytomyr Oblast - an area particularly hard hit by the Chornobyl nuclear accident 17 years ago. Many of these children have cancer and other serious physical illnesses.

Operation Mercy, an American charity that provides material assistance to more than 1,000 impoverished children in eight orphanages in Ukraine, was founded in 1997 by Dr. Fletcher Brothers and Pastor Vladimir Samarsky. The charity grew from the efforts of Freedom Village U.S.A., a home for at-risk teenagers located near Watkins Glen, N.Y.

The Professional Managers Network, which was formed this year, consists of a group of first-line supervisors whose mission is correlated to a three-legged stool - improve the business, increase personal development and become involved in the community.

"This was our first effort at a community service project," said Dave Mills, public relations officer of the PMN. "Not only were we pleased with the response we received from our employees, but it showed what we can do when we work together. This applies to all parts of the business."

"The Tonawanda Engine plant is over 3.1 million square feet with three physical sites. The PMN has all wed first-line supervisors an opportunity to network and get to know each other better," Mr. Mills added "When you supervise an area, you are relatively restricted to your department. An additional benefit of doing this event is that I have established relationships with my peers that I didn't have before."

General Motors Corp., the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, employs 342,000 people globally in its core automotive business and subsidiaries. GM today has manufacturing operations in 32 countries, and its vehicles are sold in more than 190 countries worldwide.

| Home Page |