Walmart Grants $500,000 to Veterans Green Jobs, Fueling Green Jobs Creation and Training for Military Vets

DENVER, April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Walmart Foundation has issued a grant of $500,000 to help Veterans Green Jobs, a Colorado nonprofit organization, boost its job creation and training programs in the green jobs field. This is the second year in a row the Walmart Foundation has funded Veterans Green Jobs, with grants totaling $1,249,000 since 2008. As a result of the funding, Veterans Green Jobs has created approximately 120 jobs in the green industry in Colorado so far, and more jobs will be created this year.

Veterans Green Jobs trains and prepares military veterans for jobs in the areas of home energy efficiency, renewable energy, and environmental conservation and restoration. Its programs are specifically geared to help veterans expand their career opportunities and reintegrate into civilian life.

"Powerful, positive change is possible when private corporations and nonprofit organizations come together toward creating a more sustainable future," said Brett KenCairn, CEO of Veterans Green Jobs. "As individual citizens, we can each do our part to conserve energy and use environmentally friendly products. This power is magnified exponentially when leading businesses and innovative organizations team up to provide the tools and resources people need to take these solutions to a larger scale."

As Veterans Green Jobs' founding sponsor, the Walmart Foundation has provided essential funds for training programs and job placement assistance that have put military veterans into meaningful positions in a number of program areas. These include partnerships with conservation corps programs that prepare veterans for work geared to protect and preserve our country's public lands; projects offering weatherization assistance and energy audits to qualified low-income families in Colorado; and programs to help homeless veterans find meaningful work through urban tree planting initiatives.

"Now more than ever, we are looking for opportunities to support organizations that are creating jobs," said Margaret McKenna, president of the Walmart Foundation. "By supporting Veterans Green Jobs, we are helping the environment and supporting veterans to return to the workforce."

Veterans Green Jobs relies on strategic partnerships, such as that with the Walmart Foundation, to help fulfill its mission.

The impacts of this work are felt by families whose homes are being made more energy efficient -- and by the veterans who are employed to do the work. Through Veterans Green Jobs' program, Iraq war veteran Josh Kemp has a job insulating walls and weatherizing doors and windows in Denver and Jefferson County.

"I'm very grateful that I have an income, that I have employment with a good company, and that I work with good people," said Kemp, who has plans to build a career in the growing energy efficiency field. "It's hard work, but that's why I enjoy doing it," Kemp said.

About Philanthropy at Walmart

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are proud to support the charitable causes that are important to customers and associates in their own neighborhoods. The Walmart Foundation funds initiatives focused on education, workforce development, economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness. From Feb. 1, 2009 through Jan. 31, 2010, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation gave more than $512 million in cash and in-kind gifts globally, $467 million of which was donated in the U.S. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.

About Veterans Green Jobs

Veterans Green Jobs is a national nonprofit organization based in Denver, Colo. that provides green jobs education, transition support, and career and enterprise development opportunities for military veterans, empowering and supporting them to lead America's transition to energy independence, ecological restoration, community renewal, and economic prosperity.  VGJ was founded in 2008 and operates programs in a variety of green jobs fields including home energy efficiency, renewable energy, land conservation, and urban forestry. For more information, visit www.veteransgreenjobs.org.

SOURCE Walmart Foundation