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Wal-Mart’s charitable foundation will make a $3 million donation to finance job readiness and workforce training programs in the District, part of an effort to address above-average unemployment and improve the retailer’s image as it angles to open its first D.C. stores.
The money will pay for workforce development and job preparation for 2,000 city residents at a time when the District’s unemployment rate is on the rise, up 0.6 percent to 10.4 percent in June.
The donation will also further a campaign by the chain to use charitable dollars to continue to burnish its image. In November, Wal-Mart announced plans to open its first four stores in the District and hire 1,200 people by 2012.
In the meantime, Wal-Mart and its foundation have poured millions of dollars into programs and charities that are close to the hearts of D.C. residents, including $2.4 million in contributions for its fiscal year ending Jan. 31 to groups such as the Boys & Girls Clubs, the Capital Area Food Bank and the Greater Washington Urban League. Wal-Mart announced $665,000 in grants for the mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program and school nutrition in June, and another $100,000 grant to help reduce pollution in the Anacostia River last week.
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