This week Walmart and the Walmart Foundation announced that over the last fiscal year they gave more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind contributions, making it the first time Walmart or any U.S. retailer has achieved that level of giving. The growth in global giving was largely due to increased in-kind donations in the U.S. to local food banks and families impacted by disasters.

“At Walmart we believe in taking care of our neighbors and our communities,” said Leslie Dach, executive vice president of Corporate Affairs for Walmart. “We serve people who fight hard for their families, and we are going to fight for them. We have a responsibility to do what we can to give them better options and better lives.”

“One way we can do that is through our giving, and we’ve tried to step up in a big way,” Dach continued. “We are using our size and the unique strengths of our business to address the issues that enable us to have the most impact in communities around the world, building programs in areas such as hunger relief, job training and support of local schools.”

Overall, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation’s total global contributions of $1.08 billion in the last fiscal year include:

U.S. giving of $1 billion in cash and in-kind gifts, up from $872.7 million last year

More than 351 million meals to local food banks through Feeding America
1 million bottles of water to residents impacted by Hurricane Sandy
$1.9 million in grants to Share Our Strength to provide 122,000 families the skills and resources needed to prepare healthy, affordable meals
Our stores and clubs gave $4.9 million toward first responders, including nearly $3 million toward local law enforcement
$106.4 million in cash and in-kind gifts given by Sam’s Club and the Sam’s Club Giving Program
Helped 3,600 small-business owners get the training they need to succeed
Provided grants to nonprofit partners that enabled 265 small-business loans
International giving of $82.2 million in cash and in-kind gifts
Donated more than 23,000 tons of food to hunger relief organizations in Mexico, helping more than 4,000 children battle malnutrition
Walmart Canada donated and raised $3 million to support 1,251 Breakfast Clubs of Canada programs
Some of those benefitting from Walmart’s hunger relief efforts include students at Port Towns Elementary School in Prince George’s County, Md., where 80 percent of students live at or below the poverty line. Last year, the Walmart Foundation donated more than $700,000 to the Prince George’s County school district to help fund a Breakfast in the Classroom program. The school’s principal, Mrs. Lisa Farabaugh, sees the benefits firsthand.

“I love kids. They’re my life. I want to do what I can to provide for them,” said Farabaugh. “One of my kindergarten teachers said ‘so many children come to my class in the morning hungry.’ Walmart supports the Breakfast in the Classroom program that provides a free breakfast for every child here at Port Towns. Some of the benefits have been better student attendance and students more focused and eager to learn. I can’t imagine the school without having the breakfast program.”

In addition to the more than $1 billion from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation, Walmart and Sam’s Club customers and associates around the world raised $156.3 million for local organizations such as the Salvation Army and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. During the 2012 holiday season alone, our associates and customers in the U.S. raised nearly $45 million during the Red Kettle campaign to benefit local chapters of the Salvation Army, accounting for more than 30 percent of the organization’s Red Kettle fundraising. Our associates and customers also made a difference for nearly 17 million kids across the nation by raising more than $51 million for local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals last fiscal year.

 Forget the old “Simply Kansas” brand. State officials launching a new trademark program dubbed “From the Land of Kansas.”

The program officially takes off today with events in Kansas City, Wichita and Topeka hosted by Gov. Sam Brownback and Secretary of Agriculture Dale Rodman.

“From the Land of Kansas” is aimed at supporting Kansas agricultural products and services.

A news release touts this weekend’s public launch, which includes stops at Original Juan Specialty Foods in Kansas City and the Wichita Brewing Company and Pizzeria.

The tour wraps up at the Kansas State Capital Building in Topeka, where the governor is expected to sign a proclamation officially declaring “From the Land of Kansas” the state food and agricultural trademark.

 

Closet Classic ~ Rock Archive

Free
Mr. Big