The Daily Tell

The Walmart Foundation announced that it is giving $1.1 million in free books, toys, gift packages and Walmart gift cards this holiday season to 10,000 military children and families as part of its wider seasonal charity efforts.

Representatives from Wreaths Across America and Operation Homefront joined the retailer at Fort Bragg in North Carolina to launch the program. More than 300 Walmart and Sam’s Club employees will help organize toys and give assistance to participants at charity events nationwide.

"We know that many military families have a tough time during the holidays. They miss their loved ones who are away, and we hope that our efforts will make their holiday easier and better," said Walmart Foundation president Margaret McKenna.

As part of the holiday charity campaign, Walmart supplied Operation Homefront toy shops near military bases in Texas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia and California with toys and books for a day of free shopping. Organizers estimated that more than 3,000 military parents with more than 10,000 military children participated in the free shopping sessions.

The retailer also announced that it would give Walmart gift cards to more than 1,500 military families in 30 cities, as well as 1,000 gift packages to caretakers of wounded veterans through Operation Homefront.

"This has been an especially difficult year for our military families and their children. They’re not only dealing with deployments but also the economic recession," said Operation Homefront chief executive Jim Knotts.

The financial and emotional strain on military service members in their families may only increase as combat troop deployments rise. On December 1, President Obama announced that he would send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan in order to bolster the Afghan central government.