Just last week I blogged about the Veterans Green Jobs Academy, a project of the Veterans Green Jobs organization; the project will provide job training for veterans of the U.S. military.  The organization received a big boost in funding last week.  The Wal-Mart Foundation awarded $750,000 to Veterans Green Jobs to help develop the organization's first stage of training sites. 

 

The first four locations, in Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico and Washington, will provide training to veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with the skills to enter the green jobs market.  The program has plans to expand to several more states in 2010.

 

Although the $750,000 donation is huge, the Wal-Mart Foundation did not stop there.  In addition to the Veterans Green Jobs grant, the foundation awarded $5 million to the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

"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." Source: Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart may not be the epitome of an eco-friendly business but the company has taken several measures in the past few years to be a bit more cognizant of their impact on the environment.  At the end of 2008, Wal-Mart completed a solar project on several of its California stores and created the Wal-Mart Green Jobs Council.