Corporate Responsibility

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation give away so much money it is hard to keep track of it all and this was certainly evident during the holiday season.

On Thursday, the company announced another round of grants totaling $200,000 to 10 nonprofits groups as part of its “12 Days of Giving” Facebook campaign. Those grants mark the culmination of an innovating corporate giving campaign that integrated social media and resulted in a total of $1.5 million being awarded to 145 organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway, in a release issued Wednesday, thanked its customers and employees for their generosity for donating food and toys to a number of Safeway Foundation charities this holiday season.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Heineken has announced the appointment of Stacey Tank as SVP corporate relations. She will begin her role on Jan. 3, 2012.

Tank joins Heineken USA from General Electric, where she most recently led corporate relations for “Healthymagination” – GE’s $6 billion commitment to bringing better health to more people. Additionally she led the launch of a $1 billion global cancer campaign in September 2011, which included a $100 million open innovation challenge around breast cancer diagnostics.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A regional supermarket chain and its charitable arm once again has donated funds to the United States Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program.

Stater Bros., along with Stater Bros. Charities, earlier this month presented a $26,000 check to the program, which will be used to purchase toys that will be distributed to community-based organizations in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.

SOLON, Ohio — Macy's is partnering with Earthworks System LLC, a provider of 100% recycled PVC sheets for the plastic card industry and plastic card recycling programs, to provide its customers with a recyclable gift card program for the retailer’s customers. 

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores on Friday will appoint Sylvia Mathews Burwell, a former senior executive of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to head its corporate foundation, according to the New York Times. She also will oversee the retail giant’s social, environmental and economic development programs in Africa.

Burwell replaces Margaret A. McKenna, who became the company foundation’s president in 2007.

 BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — Weis Markets announced that it has raised $100,000 for Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that raises awareness and enlists public support for the needs of injured service members. The company's Bloomsburg store associates presented the check to Jeff Combs, who is a warrior outreach coordinator for Wounded Warrior Project and a former US Marine who was severely wounded while serving in Iraq.

A new Target store in San Clemente, Calif., was the recipient of a GreenChill GOLD award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. There are a lot of certifications and awards being handed out these days in the world of sustainability, but what makes EPA’s GreenChill GOLD award noteworthy is that the Target store is only the 27th retail location to earn the distinction.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores said Monday that, on the eighth day of its "12 Days of Giving" Facebook campaign, it is awarding $140,000 to nine nonprofits aiding veterans, active members of the military and their families.

Over 12 consecutive days, Walmart will award a total of $1.5 million to 145 organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Omaha, Neb. -- There is a heartwarming story playing out  at Kmart stores  throughout the Midwest: Anonymous donors are paying off strangers'  layaway accounts, buying the Christmas gifts, especially toys and children’s clothing, that the families might otherwise have a hard time paying, the Associated Press reported.