The Walmart Foundation’s Green Jobs Training Initiative has presented a $550,000 grant to the Conservation Corps of Long Beach (CCLB) to assist and encourage job training for California’s at-risk youths.
The CCLB, which will partner with the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network, will use the funding to hire at least 20 local "at-risk" young adults at a local Walmart while also hiring two full-time supervisors.
The funding will also fund the "weatherizing" of 30 low-income homes by installing "drought resistant landscapes" and solar panels to minimize energy costs, according to Walmart’s website.
"The Walmart Foundation is committed to supporting job-training programs that address the need for a green job-ready workforce that will put more people back to work," said Kimberly Sentovich, the vice president and regional general manager for Walmart’s California stores.
The grant was presented to the CCLB after they were selected by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a non-partisan organization made up of the 1,139 Mayors of cities with populations of more than 30,000 people, as one of six organizations to receive grants that would be used to "support local job training and youth employment experience in conservation projects," according to Walmart.
"With the Walmart Foundation Green Jobs Training Initiative grant, the Conservation Corps of Long Beach will expand its green job training program and hire at least 20 local at-risk young adults and two additional full time supervisors," said Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster. "This grant will directly result in putting more people to work while supporting the City’s sustainability goals."
The CCLB specializes in training at-risk young adults in the Long Beach area so they can master the basic skills for them to get hired at a job and make a living for themselves
The Walmart Foundation is the philanthropic wing of the retail store that supports programs that encourage education, workforce development, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness. In 2007, the Walmart, Sam’s Club and the Walmart Foundation donated over $295 million programs in various communities across the country.