Veterans Find Help with Jobs from Corporate Gifts

[From The New York Times]

By ELIZABETH OLSON Published: November 10, 2010

MANY veterans are finding that jobs in this difficult economy require skills and training they do not have. Government data shows a higher unemployment rate for recent veterans than for the general population. A number of companies, including Microsoft, Wal-Mart, J. C. Penney and Activision Blizzard, which makes Guitar Hero and other video games, have stepped up with millions of dollars for programs that provide computer skills, green expertise and health care training. Many gifts were announced this week, tied to Veterans Day.

Microsoft is giving $2 million in cash and about $4 million in software to programs that help former military members with technology skills, career counseling and job placement.

To help reintegrate veterans, the Wal-Mart Foundation is providing $10 million over five years to nonprofit groups, focusing on job readiness and training and higher education.

Two years ago, it donated $3.6 million to colleges and nonprofit groups, including $750,000 to a group in Denver, Veterans Green Jobs, which trains returning veterans for green industry jobs.

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