Walmart’s Commitment to
Veterans and Military Families
By Mark Espinoza, Senior Director, Corporate Affairs, Walmart Inc.
At Walmart, we are grateful for the sacrifice our nation’s veterans,
military men and women, their spouses and families make in
service to the country. It is our duty and honor to support our
military, not only when they are in uniform, but also when they transition back
to civilian life.
Committed to helping veterans face this important period through job
opportunities, Walmart introduced the Veterans Welcome Home Commitment
on Memorial Day 2013. The Commitment guarantees a job offer to any
eligible, honorably discharged U.S. veteran who has separated from service
since the announcement. To date, Walmart has hired 243,716 veterans, and
39,916 have been promoted to roles of greater responsibility.
On November 12, 2018, Walmart announced the Military Spouse Career
Connection (MSCC), giving hiring preference to military spouses seeking
employment with Walmart or Sam’s Club. Since launching the initiative, we’ve
hired 14,505 military spouses. The MSCC program in 2018 was launched to
complement our Veterans Welcome Home Commitment to hire 250,000
military veterans by the end of 2020.
Whether through employment and entrepreneurial support, recognition
campaigns, or company policies, Walmart seeks to demonstrate the value
veterans bring to the workforce and to our communities.
Other programs and policies include:
• Military Family Promise—Walmart guarantees a job at a nearby
store or club for all military personnel and military spouses employed by the
company who move to a different part of the country because they or their
spouse have been transferred by the U.S. military.
• Coalition for Veteran-Owned Business— As a founding member of
CVOB, Walmart is committed to helping the organization grow and support
veteran-owned businesses in communities throughout the U.S.
• Military Leave of Absence (MLOA)—Since 2008, Walmart has
offered differential pay to associates taking a leave of absence for specific
military assignments lasting more than three days and through the duration of
leave. If an associate’s military salary is less than what they make at their job
at Walmart, the company will pay them the difference while they are on MLOA.
In May 2017, Walmart announced enhancements to this policy to include any
eligible military assignment, including basic training, allowing those associates
considering enlisting in the Armed Forces to do so without fear of losing wages.
To strengthen our support of veterans reintegrating into their local
communities, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have invested more than
$40 million since 2011 in job training, education and innovative public/private
community-based initiatives. The following are a few of the most recent
programs funded by Walmart and the Walmart Foundation:
• Operation Homefront—In November 2019, the Walmart
Foundation announced a $225,000 grant to Operation Homefront that will
enable the organization to continue their strategic expansion and growth
including the development of a new website, outreach tools and a key
performance indicator
dashboard as they strive to
serve even more military
families.
• Hire Heroes
USA—In May 2019, the
Walmart Foundation
awarded a $1 million grant
to Hire Heroes USA to
support the expansion of their employment programs and improve data
collection and reporting. Hire Heroes USA is a veteran service organization
dedicated to empowering U.S. military members, veterans and their spouses as
they seek civilian employment.
• Boston University School of Medicine— In May 2018, the Walmart
Foundation granted over $250,000 to the Women Veterans Network (WoVeN)
building upon a 2017 grant which helped launch the program.
• The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military
Medicine, Inc.—Center for Public Private Partnerships (CP3): In 2015,
the Walmart Foundation awarded a $500k grant to support The Veterans
Metrics Initiative (TVMI): Linking Program Components to Post-Military
Well-being study.
LS
Veterans can explore career options with Walmart at
www.walmartcareerswithamission.com.
Military spouses can explore career opportunities with Walmart at
www.walmartspouseswithamission.com.
For more information on philanthropic work with veterans and military families,
visit Walmart.org.
milita
His View
Mark Espinoza is a Senior
Director of Corporate Affairs
for Walmart Inc. in Bentonville,
Arkansas. Mark joined
Walmart in January of 2008. In
his position, he actively works
in helping to set strategy for the
company’s outreach
opportunities and social
investments. He is a leader with
a deep and broad range of
experience with the public,
private and NGO sectors in the
United States. He has expertise
in developing and
operationalizing external
engagement strategies with
cross-functional teams. He is
currently coordinating external
outreach efforts for Walmart’s
US Manufacturing, Veterans
and Financial Services efforts.
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