Ford Transit Connect (Photo Courtesy: Ford.com)

Staff ReportsIrvine – On Fri., Dec. 5, the Ford Motor Company – in conjunction with the Orange County Gang Reduction and Intervention Partnership (OC GRIP), and the Taco Bell Corporation – rewarded over 150 local at-risk elementary, middle and high school students with an exclusive visit to their regional headquarters.

Students met with professional skateboarder, reality star, and entrepreneur, Ryan Sheckler, and were taken on an exclusive tour of Ford’s Design Studio. They also heard from law enforcement officers and prosecutors, including Orange County District Attorney, Tony Rackauckas, who spoke to the students about positive life choices and the negative effects of criminal street gangs. Lunch and additional activities were provided by Taco Bell.

To earn this incentive, the students met a challenge to have no unexcused absences, criminal activity or arrests, violence or weapons on campus, and no gang-related clothing, writing, or behavior.

As a reward for their commitment to additional OC GRIP programming, 25 students and their families in attendance were eligible to win an all-new Ford Transit Connect, furnished by the OC Ford Dealers Advertising Fund.

This is the third year that the OC GRIP program, in partnership with Ford and their employees, have provided at-risk-students with resources and support to encourage them to make education a priority in their lives. In this year alone, over 90 Ford employees volunteered their time by visiting 12 Orange County schools to meet with students in the program.