Walmart Calls on Public to “Sing to Salute Military Families” This Holiday Season
December 01 2015 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Campaign will provide up to $1.5 million to
Fisher House Foundation to bring more military families together
while loved ones are treated at nearby hospitals
Today, on Giving Tuesday, Walmart is asking the public to
literally lend its voice to support military families this holiday
season. The company is kicking off Holiday Sing to Salute Military
Families, a nationwide campaign that encourages the public to sing
a portion of a classic holiday song while capturing it on video,
and then post the video on social media channels to show support
for members of the military and their families. Through these
actions, Walmart will donate up to $1 million to Fisher House
Foundation, which for the past 25 years has provided a
home-away-from-home for military and veterans’ families whose loved
ones are in a nearby military or veterans hospital. The goal of the
donation is to help Fisher House Foundation fund a full year of
lodging for military families staying at Fisher Houses on U.S.
military bases. Additionally, Walmart is launching the campaign
with an initial $500,000 donation to Fisher House Foundation.
In recent years, more than 250,000 military men and women have
returned home from overseas annually, many of whom are seeking
medical treatment and are being treated at hospitals away from
their families. Walmart’s Holiday Sing to Salute Military Families
campaign aims to provide opportunities for these families to spend
more time together during recovery while helping to provide a
platform for the general public to show its support for our
military, veterans and their families during the holiday
season.
“For more than 25 years, Fisher House Foundation has helped our
nation’s military families be with their loved ones while they
recover and receive medical treatment at local hospitals. Walmart
is honored to help Fisher House Foundation continue their efforts
and share the joy of the season with the families staying at the
houses this holiday,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, chief
sustainability officer of Walmart and president of the Walmart
Foundation. “Our initiative this December is part of Walmart’s
overall commitment to support veterans and their families. Working
together with our partners, we are helping to strengthen ecosystems
that benefit military members as they return home and transition
back to civilian life.”
The initial $500,000 donation from Walmart to Fisher House
Foundation will be distributed among more than 60 U.S.-based Fisher
Houses. This donation will be used for home improvements and
holiday festivities, including gifts for families and visits from
Santa. Walmart is asking the public to join in the campaign and
take action to help Walmart donate up to an additional $1 million.
From Dec. 1 to Dec. 22, the public can participate by taking the
following steps:
- Create a holiday greeting or video of
one or more individuals singing a portion of a classic holiday
song.
- Post the greeting or video on a public
Instagram, Twitter or YouTube account with the hashtag
#Sing2Salute. If you’re posting on YouTube, make sure the hashtag
is in your video’s title and post description.
- In the post, tag a friend and call on
them to participate.
As always, your posted content should comply with the guidelines
of the social media platform you choose. For each public post on
Instagram, Twitter or YouTube using the hashtag #Sing2Salute during
the campaign, Walmart will donate $100, up to $1 million, to Fisher
House Foundation. To learn more about Walmart’s Holiday Sing to
Salute Military Families campaign, review rules for participation
and see featured videos, visit www.walmart.com/sing2salute.
“I’m so pleased to be working with Walmart this holiday season
to bring a little extra cheer to our military, veterans and their
families,” said Ken Fisher, chairman and CEO of Fisher House
Foundation. “I can’t say that I’m a great singer, but that doesn’t
matter. What matters is getting our voices out there to say thank
you and spread cheer. That’s what the real purpose of the campaign
is all about. And it has double value in that it will help Fisher
House Foundation fund lodging for military families staying at
Fisher Houses on U.S. military bases. Additionally, Walmart is
helping brighten the holidays for families staying at Fisher Houses
this holiday. What better way to show that America really
cares.”
Walmart’s support of military families and veterans this holiday
season is just one way the company is demonstrating its
long-standing commitment to support men and women in uniform. This
October, Walmart launched the Greenlight A Vet campaign to help
create visible and actionable national support for veterans
nationwide. Walmart invited all Americans to show support for
veterans by changing one light bulb in their home to green, raising
awareness on social media, volunteering and serving with veteran
groups in their community, or starting a mentor/mentee relationship
with a veteran. Walmart is committed to greenlighting veterans,
including hiring 250,000 veterans by 2020 through Walmart’s
Veterans Welcome Home Commitment. As part of this effort, Walmart
recently greenlighted its 100,000th veteran hire. While a job is a
vital piece of transitioning from military to civilian life for a
veteran, it also takes a coordinated, multi-sector effort to create
healthy transitions to civilian life. Walmart and the Walmart
Foundation have committed $20 million in grants to organizations
that provide veteran job training, education and community-based
collaboration.
During the holiday season, Walmart will also provide support to
two more nonprofits servicing military families and honoring
veterans, including:
- Operation Homefront: Walmart is helping
Operation Homefront put a holiday meal on the table of 8,500
military families in 26 locations nationwide. Walmart has supported
Operation Homefront’s Holiday Meals for Military program since
2006.
- Wreaths Across America: Walmart is
providing tractor trailers, private fleet drivers and a donation of
$150,000 to Wreaths Across America to help honor U.S. veterans by
laying wreaths in 900 locations on National Wreaths Across America
Day, Dec. 12.
Additionally, celebrating the Red Kettle Campaign’s 125th
anniversary this year, Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations
nationwide will host red kettles and bell ringers throughout
December to help The Salvation Army provide food, clothing,
shelter, financial assistance and other services to those in need.
Walmart also is working to brighten the holidays for local kids in
need by sponsoring Fill The Truck events at participating stores.
During the weekends of Nov. 27-29, Dec. 4-6 and Dec.11-13, Walmart
is inviting customers to visit their local participating stores and
donate a new toy, coat or other gift to a local charity for a child
in need.
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world
save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail
stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, nearly
260 million customers and members visit our 11,554 stores under 72
banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries.
With fiscal year 2015 revenue of $485.7 billion, Walmart employs
approximately 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues
to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and
employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be
found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on Facebook at
http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/walmart.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151201005232/en/
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.Tricia Moriarty,
1-800-331-0085news.walmart.com/reporter
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