General Motors Engineer Reflects on Childhood during ‘Grow Cody Week’

Native Detroiter Cedric Stokes has strong ties to the Detroit community

For the third consecutive year, more than 500 GM employees invested their time and talent during “teamGM Cares’ Grow Cody Week” to help make the Cody Rouge neighborhood a great place to live, work and play.

Volunteers rolled up their sleeves to board up, clean and paint homes in the longstanding northwest Detroit community in one of two separate weeks of service this year.

Native Detroiter Cedric Stokes, a senior validation engineer at General Motors, reflected on his childhood and experiences in the Cody community.

“This project is very important to me since I grew up a few miles from this area. It was almost 30 years ago that I played baseball at Stein Park near Cody High School and being here brings back so many memories,” Stokes said. “My pa-rents still live in this community and several of my friends are now teachers at Cody High School.”

GM’s involvement in the Cody Rouge neighborhood is part of a commitment to building and sustaining a more vibrant Detroit through engagement and investments that make GM’s hometown a great place to live, work and thrive.

“I’ve always wanted to work for GM. It’s good to see our company giving back to the community and understanding the importance of Detroit,” Stokes said. “The men and women of this community take pride in being a Detroit resident, and when Detroit flourishes, everyone flourishes.”

Stokes continued: “It’s not

just about me achieving my goals, but it’s critical for me to make a difference in my com-munity. GM’s presence at Cody couldn’t make me prouder.”

Stokes is no stranger to volunteerism and has consistently given back to the community through his fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Stokes also participates in a mentoring program that focuses on the development of young, African American men and has worked with both March for Babies and March of Dimes.