Wal-Mart Foundation to donate $5.7 million for green job creation

BENTONVILLE, Ark. The Wal-Mart Foundation said it will donate $5.7 million to the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Veterans Green Jobs for the creation of green jobs in the United States.

"We understand how important building a green workforce is to the future of America, and the Wal-Mart Foundation is committed to helping create job growth that also sustains our environment," said Margaret McKenna, president of the Wal-Mart Foundation. "Realizing that one of the greatest barriers to creating green jobs is the lack of a trained workforce, the Wal-Mart Foundation's grants will help break through this barrier and enable more American workers to be trained and ready to contribute in this growing sector."

The Wal-Mart Foundation's $5 million grant to the U.S. Conference of Mayors will work to create jobs in an array of emerging green industries. In the spring of 2009, through a competitive selection process led by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, six grants will be awarded to non-profit organizations that have a history of working with mayors to train people for green jobs. In early 2010, three additional grants will be given to cities with newer commitments to providing green workforce training.

Additionally, the Wal-Mart Foundation is awarding nearly $750,000 to Veterans Green Jobs to support the development of four training sites which will help veterans develop green job training skills. The training sites - which will be built in Washington, Colorado, New Mexico and Louisiana - will assist many of the nearly two million returned or returning military personnel facing the challenging task of reintegrating into civilian life.