Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have announced the launch of a $3 million initiative designed to provide up to two thousand Washington, D.C., residents with the skills and training they need to gain employment.

Walmart's two-pronged approach to the initiative includes partnering with the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, which will administer an open grant competition that will provide $1.3 million to community-based organizations that offer literacy and job training programs. In addition, the Community College of the District of Columbia will provide job-readiness training to more than one thousand area residents, including a Retail Academy program that will prepare individuals for entry-level retail positions. Participants in each program will have access to career counseling and job recruitment and placement services for positions at local companies, including Walmart.

According to a 2007 report from the District State Education Agency, 37 percent of D.C. residents are functionally illiterate and can perform only the simplest literacy tasks; in wards 5, 7, and 8, the rates were as high as 50 percent. At the same time, the unemployment rate in the region stands at 10.4 percent.

"Whenever you turn on the news, you are reminded that unemployment is a major issue in this country and in this city — it is a problem that has impacted countless D.C. residents for months and some for several years," said Walmart Foundation senior director Michelle Gilliard. "This initiative is designed to help thousands of men and women — especially those who have been chronically unemployed — gain the skills they need to be more competitive for jobs and get back to work, whether as Walmart associates or employees at other businesses across D.C. and the region."