Innovation In The Health Care Sector Marches Forward
All eyes are on the Supreme Court as the nation awaits its decision about ObamaCare, but progress in the health sector nonetheless marches on. These changes in the real world of health care are driven not by Washington’s laws, rules, and endless regulations, but by companies, large and small, that are developing new ways to improve health care. Here are examples of some of their real-world solutions: Walmart is making a major investment in its new “Healthy Food Initiative” to help families stressed for time and money to eat better, more nutritious meals. Joe Quinn, senior director of issue management and strategic outreach for Walmart, described the company’s new five-year program to make it easier to live healthy by making more nutritious food more accessible and affordable.
read moreHelping Women Achieve a Common Dream
Walmart’s Global Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative is working to create opportunity and empower women and girls in markets around the world. By investing in training, sourcing products from women, and increasing the gender diversity of our partners, we are supporting women (and mothers!) who are lifting themselves up and laying the groundwork for a stronger tomorrow.
ISU Economists Study Iowa Communities 15 Years Before And After Wal-Mart
Control communities in the study — those without Wal-Mart stores — didn’t match the retail sales growth of the Wal-Mart host towns, but their sales also largely stabilized during the same 15-year period. The study will be published in a future issue of Economic Development Quarterly.
“Revisiting Wal-Mart’s Impact on Iowa Small Town Retail: Twenty-Five Years Later,” was co-authored by Ken Stone, an Iowa State emeritus economics professor; and Georgeanne Artz, a visiting assistant professor of economics in ISU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. They’ve been studying the economic impact of Wal-Mart stores dotting the Iowa landscape since 1988.
Ohio Community Secures $1 Million in Grants for Hunger Relief through Walmart’s “Fighting Hunger Together” Facebook Campaign
Ohio Community Secures $1 Million in Grants for Hunger Relief through Walmart’s “Fighting Hunger Together” Facebook Campaign 20 Runner-up Communities to Receive $50,000 Each to Fight Hunger Locally
BENTONVILLE, Ark., May 1, 2012 – With more than 98,000 votes, Youngstown-Warren, Ohio, took the top spot in Walmart’s “Fighting Hunger Together” Facebook campaign securing $1 million in grants from Walmart to help fight hunger. Since April 9, more than 396,000 votes were cast for the 200 communities across the United States hardest hit by unemployment. The 20 communities with the next highest votes will each receive $50,000 in grants to fight hunger. The runners-up are:
- Johnson City, Tenn.
- Madera-Chowchilla, Calif.
- Fresno, Calif.
- Bakersfield-Delano, Calif.
- El Paso, Texas
- Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
- St. George, Utah
- Toledo, Ohio
- Danville, Va.
- Salem, Ore.
- Charlotte, N.C.
- Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
- Kokomo, Ind.
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.
- Parkersburg-Vienna, W. Va.
- Modesto, Calif.
- Morristown, Tenn.
- Louisville, Ky.
- Yuma, Ariz.
- The Inland Empire, Calif.
The 200 communities included in Walmart’s “Fighting Hunger Together” Facebook campaign were chosen based on a list from the U.S. Department of Labor that identified the communities across the country with the highest rates of unemployment. Walmart’s campaign comes at a critical time, as spring traditionally brings a decrease in donations to food banks, leaving them unable to meet the needs of those who are facing food insecurity.
“We want to thank everyone who contributed to the fight against hunger this month, particularly the thousands who voted and shared the campaign with their friends on Facebook,” said Sylvia Mathews Burwell, president of the Walmart Foundation. “We hope the increased awareness will positively impact food banks and hunger nonprofits across the nation as they continue to help the one in six Americans who at some point this year will be uncertain where their next meal will come from.”
Through its Facebook page, Walmart will notify fans on the local organizations in the 21 communities that will receive hunger relief funding through this initiative. Walmart expects to announce all organizations receiving grants on May 15.
During April, Walmart customers were also able to fight hunger by visiting one of its 3,854 Walmart stores and Neighborhood Markets nationwide to purchase products from supplier partners, four of the nation’s largest food companies — General Mills, ConAgra Foods, Kraft Foods and Kellogg Company. During April and as part of Walmart’s continuing food donations, more than 42 million meals will be donated to Feeding America food banks and Action for Healthy Kids.
As the nation’s largest grocer, Walmart is uniquely positioned to help fight hunger in America. Since launching its $2 billion commitment to fight hunger, the company has contributed more than 594 million pounds of food and $122 million in grants to hunger relief programs and is also lending its expertise to help food banks operate more efficiently.
About Philanthropy at Walmart
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are proud to support initiatives that are helping people live better around the globe. In May 2010, Walmart and its Foundation made a historic pledge of $2 billion through 2015 to fight hunger in the U.S. The Walmart Foundation also supports education, workforce development, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness initiatives. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.
Valley Wins $1 Million WalMart Contest
It started out as a simple request: Vote for the Youngstown/Warren area in WalMart’s national “Fighting Hunger Together” Campaign. More than 98,000 votes later, the Mahoning Valley remained in the No. 1 spot in WalMart’s “Fighting Hunger Together” Campaign around 11:40 p.m. Monday, with just 20 minutes of voting left. “It’s an incredible display of tenacity by the people of the Valley in order to help hungry people,” said Michael Iberis, executive director of the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley. Up for grabs is $1 million, which is money that can go a long way to help the food bank and Catholic Charities feed the Mahoning Valley. “We’re so happy that everyone has rallied to come together to vote for this area,” said Nancy Voitus, executive director of Catholic Charities.
Wal-Mart Donates to Antioch Rescue Squad
The microwave had to go. When Antioch resident Abby Aguilar, a Wal-Mart event coordinator, walked into Antioch Rescue Squad and saw a microwave that was at least 15 years old, she wanted to replace it with something better. Aguilar spoke with several Antioch Rescue Squad volunteers and learned that the volunteers there were going out of pocket for food and toiletries. The station is the home away from home for the paramedics and EMTs who work 24-hour shifts. However, the place was not stocked with kitchen appliances, utensils and toiletries. On Sunday, Antioch Rescue Squad received about $2,000 worth of items from Wal-Mart ranging from a new microwave to toothbrushes and toilet paper.
When Big-Box, Small Shops Live in Harmony in Rockton
ROCKTON — The Farm & Fleet that opened this month marked the latest retail development along Rockton Road near Illinois 251.
The corridor has been steadily growing since Walmart broke ground nearly five years ago on a supercenter. But when the supercenter opened, there was concern that the mom-and-pop shops of Main Street could be on their way out.
If the big-box, suburban shopping center didn’t outright strangle the competition, it could upset the unique atmosphere of downtown.
But Main Street has proved to be well-insulated from the corporate development a few miles to the east. Downtown is still home to family-owned restaurants, antiques stores and pubs. It features a small food mart and a handcrafted jeweler, a barber shop and a homemade ice cream parlor that rents space from the small village library next door.
The Rockton Road Walmart has pumped significant tax revenue into village coffers — it stands at $500,000 a year — and spurred more development, including a fast-food joint and a gas station across the street that is expected to open this summer.
The challenge for the village’s business leaders will be to balance the growth of the retailers with the charm of Main Street.
The big retail chains and small downtown shops complement each other and aren’t at odds, said Laura Baker, executive director of the Rockton Chamber of Commerce. “The two are such different shopping experiences.”
Franchise retailers like Walmart draw shoppers from around the region for a quick shopping experience. Downtown offers niche stores and specialty items; it allows shoppers to linger, get a bite to eat and spend the better part of a day.
At their best, both options attract shoppers from outside the area, Baker said.
Walmart to Open Store in East Lakeview
Walmart will begin construction this summer on a new Neighborhood Market store in Chicago’s East Lakeview neighborhood, the company confirmed Tuesday. The new location, expected to open next year, will be in the 2800 block of North Broadway. A Cost Plus World Market is currently operating in that space. Cost Plus Inc. officials did not return requests for comment on its plans. Walmart’s smaller Neighborhood Market stores sell groceries and are between 30,000 and 60,000 square feet, compared to the larger, 180,000-square-foot Supercenters that populate rural and suburban areas.
I Worked at Walmart for Two Years and I Actually Really Liked It
I’m a former Walmart associate.
Not only did I work there once, but I liked the job so much that I actually returned for three more tours of duty during college.
About six months before I started, a Walmart opened near my hometown to fanfare from a number of residents and scorn from a majority of local businesses.
When my summer job ended, I decided to apply to Walmart. The first thing you notice is the application: it’s time consuming and actually difficult.
Okulski now covers transportation for Business Insider.
I sat at a kiosk in the store for about an hour filling out a questionnaire which mainly was intended to see how I would react in certain situations that employees would face, such as confrontations with coworkers and observing theft.
Soon after, I got a call back for an interview, which was also surprisingly grueling. I passed and was soon onboard as an associate in the automotive department, starting around $9 per hour. But before I hit the sales floor, I spent the majority of my first few days in the training room on computer terminals, learning proper store practices. They are actually useful, and if you pay attention, you learn a great deal about being on the floor.
