Walmart deploys initiative to hire veterans
SAN ANTONIO — This Memorial Day weekend, Walmart and Sam's Club will launch the company's initiative to hire 100,000 veterans throughout the next five years.
The event will take place Saturday, May 25, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Walmart supercenter located at 8923 W. Military Rd. Lunch and giveaways will be provided by Walmart and Sam's Club suppliers, including Johnsonville's World's Largest Grill. The event is part of the continuing Saluting Heroes Together campaign, which Walmart launched May 18 with Operation Homefront.
In January, Walmart announced that beginning Memorial Day, May 27, the company would offer a job to any honorably discharged veteran within his or her first 12 months off active duty through its Veterans Welcome Home Commitment, and committed to hiring more than 100,000 veterans throughout the next five years. Members from the Walmart People Division department will be on hand at the event to answer questions about the commitment.
"Veterans will add tremendous value to our company," said Juan Zuniga, a San Antonio Walmart store manager and veteran. "They have a great work ethic and are eager to learn," he added. "When I left the Navy, I was looking for an opportunity to apply the traits I learned in the military to a civilian job, and I found that opportunity at Walmart."
"Operation Homefront is proud to support our service men and women and their families, and have been since 2002," says Vicki Sarracino, VP of field operations. "Walmart has been a longtime supporter of Operation Homefront," she added. "We are proud to partner with Walmart and Sam's Club and are honored to take part in the Saluting Heroes Together events that will help strengthen community support for those who have served and sacrificed to provide opportunity for us."
The company's focus on supporting veterans extends beyond its hiring initiative. The Walmart Foundation has committed $20 million through 2015 to helping veterans and their families transition from the military into the civilian workforce through programs that provide job training, transition support and education.
As part of the commitment, the foundation announced a $750,000 grant to the American G.I. Forum National Veterans Outreach Program in April. The grant established a new Texas veterans program focused on helping 700 Texas veterans, age 34 years and younger, who are unemployed or underemployed with transition and employment placement assistance.