Posted on November 11, 2012

Veteran Service Agency Receives $750,000 From Walmart

Walmart has announced a $750,000 grant to Swords to Plowshares, a veterans service agency based in San Francisco, to improve and expand job training programs for veterans in California.

The grant will be used to provide seven hundred veterans in underserved communities with training for jobs in high-growth industries as well as pre-employment assistance and placement support. Established in 1974, Swords to Plowshares provides a range of services to veterans in the Bay Area, including counseling and case management, employment counseling and job training, and legal assistance to homeless and low-income retired military personnel.

The funds from Walmart also will enable the organization to offer grants to other veterans service providers in the state, with a focus on groups serving communities with the greatest number of unemployed veterans.

"We know firsthand that far too many veterans have a difficult time transitioning the skills they learned in the military to the civilian workforce," said Swords to Plowshares executive director Michael Blecker. "This grant is key to providing the support veterans need amidst a challenged economy and competitive workforce."