General Motors employees team up for massive cleanup in westside Detroit neighborhood

Detroit’s Cody High School is getting a major upgrade thanks to 2,500 General Motors employees, senior executives and community members.

Back in 2014, teamGM Cares, the automaker’s community service arm, banded together to lend a hand at Cody High. This year, they’re back to make additional improvements.

On August 15, teamGM Cares will partner with Quicken Loans, DTE Energy, The Skillman Foundation, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Roncelli Inc., and Oak Pointe Church to revitalize the school and the surrounding community.

“GM’s employees made great progress two years ago and now we are returning to work with residents and community leaders to create a safer, sustainable neighborhood where families and businesses can thrive,” Heidi Magyar, director of GM Community Outreach, says in a statement.

The Cody-Rouge Community Action Alliance worked with GM and The Skillman Foundation earlier this year to assess the overall need for revitalization in the community.

This year’s focus will be to make much needed improvements to the school’s concession stand, fitness park, dugout, soccer field, pavilion coupled with sprucing up the school’s fields.

“Our organization has been working for 10 years to create a strong sustainable community for residents and businesses,” says Kenyetta Campbell, CRCAA executive director.

In addition to school renovations, teamGM Cares and their partners will also work to rehabilitate local homes, aid in park upgrades, and cultivate land for community gardening.

The weeklong volunteer event will end on August 20 with a family fun day for employees and the community. GM employees will be giving away backpacks filled with back-to-school goodies for local student returning to school in the fall.