Walmart Foundation Provides Funds for Operation Homefront

Walmart Foundation Continues Longstanding Relationship with Operation Homefront Through $250,000 Grant to Support Veteran and Military Families

Grant will support military families facing critical financial crises

HOUSTON, Texas (December 11, 2018) – Today, the Walmart Foundation announced a $250,000 grant to Texas-based Operation Homefront for their Critical Financial Assistance program. The grant will provide financial assistance to military families experiencing financial crises. The announcement was made today at the Silber Street Walmart Supercenter alongside Brig. Gen. (ret.) John I. Pray Jr., Operation Homefront president and chief executive officer.

The funding from the Walmart Foundation will serve approximately 300 families. It will also cover critical program support for caseworkers who will help create stability plans, provide counseling and make referrals to resources in order to build strong, stable and secure military families.

“Operation Homefront has a long history of supporting military families, and we are honored to continue to help them further their mission with this grant,” said Julie Gehrki, vice president of the Walmart Foundation. “Walmart, with the collective efforts of its associates, stores and clubs, and the Walmart Foundation are proud to have contributed more than $7 million in cash and in-kind donations to Operation Homefront since 2006.”

Operation Homefront provides critical financial assistance, transitional and permanent housing and family support services throughout the year to help prevent short-term challenges from turning into chronic, long-term struggles. Ninety-two percent of Operation Homefront’s expenditures go toward delivering these programs and services. Over the last eight years, the organization has fulfilled more than 40,000 requests from military families, providing over $25 million in assistance. Financial assistance has included disaster recovery, food and living expenses, rent and mortgage payments and other critical needs.

“Operation Homefront is extremely grateful to the Walmart Foundation for their extraordinary commitment to helping us serve our nation’s military families in their time of need,” said Brig. Gen. (ret.) John I. Pray Jr., Operation Homefront president and chief executive officer. “This significant donation will allow us to fulfill hundreds of requests for financial assistance and allow these military families, to be strong, stable, and secure in the communities, our communities, that they have worked so hard to protect.”

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have a long history of supporting military members, veterans and their families. This renewed support for Operation Homefront comes on the heels of Walmart’s recent announcement that the company will give hiring preference to military spouses through the Military Spouse Career Connection, an initiative that complements the Veterans Welcome Home Commitment, Walmart’s program to hire 250,000 veterans by 2020.

For more information about Walmart’s Veterans Welcome Home Commitment and overall support to veterans, service members and military families, visit walmartcareerswithamission.com.

About Philanthropy at Walmart

By using our strengths to help others, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation create opportunities for people to live better every day. Walmart has stores in 27 countries, employing more than 2.2 million associates and doing business with thousands of suppliers who, in turn, employ millions of people. Our philanthropy helps people live better by supporting upward job mobility and economic development for the retail workforce; addressing hunger and making healthier, more sustainably-grown food a reality; and building strong communities where Walmart operates and inspiring our associates to give back. Whether it is helping to lead the fight against hunger in the United States with $2 billion in cash and in-kind donations or supporting Women’s Economic Empowerment through a series of grants totaling $10 million to the Women in Factories training program in Bangladesh, China, India and Central America, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are not only working to tackle key social issues, we are also collaborating with others to inspire solutions for long-lasting systemic change. To learn more about Walmart’s giving, visit http://www.foundation.walmart.com.

Founded in 2002, Operation Homefront is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive – not simply struggle to get by – in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefront expenditures go directly to programs that support tens of thousands of military families each year. Operation Homefront provides critical financial assistance, transitional and permanent housing and family support services to prevent short-term needs from turning into chronic, long-term struggles. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the support from thousands of volunteers, Operation Homefront proudly serves America’s military families. For more information, visit www.OperationHomefront.org.