News (Noticias) Tagged ‘wal mart’

Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer and a leading private employer of Hispanics, will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, September 1 - October 15, by providing its customers and the Hispanic community with valuable information and resources for the pursuit of higher education. Wal-Mart’s commitment to supporting education initiatives will be featured in a national campaign that will coincide with the launch of a Spanish-language website, AhorraMasViveMejor.com, aimed at facilitating and empowering moms and kids to access information on higher education and school funding.

“Highlighting the importance of educational advancement is an ideal way to honor Hispanic heritage,” said Gisel Ruiz, vice president and regional general manager, Walmart Stores, U.S. “By doing so, we can inspire and shape success for future generations to come, ultimately helping people live better lives.”

Created for students and parents, AhorraMasViveMejor.com will offer insight into preparing for college, planning and budgeting. Online users will have access to tools and resources such as studying skills, test preparatory, loan information, scholarships, colleges and applications. The interactive site will fully integrate viewers with an enhanced knowledge of the overall steps necessary for pursuing a college education and will address questions and answers that are typical of the college admission process.

The retailer also plans to recognize several recent scholarship recipients who, with Wal-Mart’s financial support, have triumphed and achieved academic excellence. Through company sponsored scholarship programs and partnerships with organizations like the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), the Wal-Mart Foundation has made a philanthropic commitment by donating more than
$67 million in the last year to education-focused organizations. Of that,
$29 million has gone directly to local schools in nearly every community where Walmart and Sam’s Club have a presence.

Hector de Santiago, a recent recipient of the HSF/Wal-Mart Scholars scholarship, was just seven years old when his parents made the life-changing decision to leave Mexico in order to provide a better future for the family. Today Hector is pursuing a master’s degree in business administration at San Jose State University in California. “Wal-Mart realizes through education it can empower young Latinos such as me,” said de Santiago. “With this scholarship I have been afforded the opportunity to pursue my dream of higher education.”

Hector, along with several other scholarship recipients, will be featured throughout Walmart’s mass advertising campaign and will be highlighted as examples of Walmart’s ongoing commitment to higher education. Each of the scholars will also be profiled in Walmart’s Viviendo magazine. The publication will feature educational-themed content with articles such as “Start the Financial Aid Search Early” and the “Top 10 Jobs”. Walmart will also feature suppliers such as Kimberly- Clark, P&G, Colgate-Palmolive, Maybelline,
Coca-Cola, Tyson, Nestle, General Mills, Unilever, PepsiCo and Mission Foods, in its Spanish-language circulars, that have displayed a commitment to education and whose products are popular with Hispanic customers.

Currently Hispanics are America’s largest ethnic minority and the fastest growing demographic. Reports from the U.S. Census Bureau reveal that serious discrepancies remain when Hispanic educational levels are compared to other groups. Statistical information reveals that Hispanics have the highest high school dropout rate (23.8 percent, U.S. Census 2006) as compared to any major racial or ethnic group.

“Our partnership with Wal-Mart has been instrumental in our ongoing efforts to strengthen America by increasing higher education among Hispanic Americans,” said Frank D. Alvarez, Hispanic Scholarship Fund President and CEO. “Wal-Mart’s investment in HSF ensures that students, like Hector, pursue their dreams.”

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) is working to break the cycle of under-education among Hispanics. HSF helps Hispanics fund their college education with more than $247 million in scholarships granted to date. Since 2006 Wal-Mart has actively supported HSF and its mission through a multi-year grant that has funded the HSF/Wal-Mart Scholars Program, making the dream of higher education possible for more students. During Hispanic Heritage Month, Wal-Mart will present HSF with one million dollars to assist in providing more college financial aid to the Latino community.

Wal-Mart’s commitment to the Hispanic community extends throughout the organization as a leading employer of more than 165,000 Hispanic associates. For the third year in a row, the company was named one of the “50 Best Companies for Latinas” by LATINA Style Magazine. The company tailors each shopping experience to its diverse customer base by adopting the “Store of the Community” concept, which uses locally relevant store designs and a merchandise mix that reflects the wants and needs of its Hispanic customers.

About Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT)
Every week, millions of customers visit Walmart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam’s Club locations across America or log on to its online store at www.walmart.com. The company and its Foundation are committed to a philosophy of giving back locally. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is proud to support the causes that are important to customers and associates right in their own neighborhoods, and last year gave more than $296 million to local communities in the United States. More information about Walmart can be found by visiting www.walmartstores.com. Online merchandise sales are available at August 5, 2008

Baby Abuelita Productions Salutes Miami Children’s Hospital

Filed under [ Business ] [ Press Releases ] [ Blogante Business ]
Tags: Baby Abuelita, book, Disney, DVD, wal mart

On Thursday, August 7th, Baby Abuelita Productions, creators of the popular Spanish-lullaby singing dolls, salutes Miami Children’s Hospital for its service to the children and the South Florida Hispanic community. The Neighborhood Salute, which is a prize awarded to Baby Abuelita by Edy’s SlowChurned ice cream for its written submission in appreciation of the Miami community, will be celebrated at Miami Children’s Hospital.
The salute will include free ice cream for 100 participants to attend and a premier showing of an episode of the new Baby Abuelita DVD, Family Fiesta. The first in a series of DVDs distributed by Baby Abuelita Productions, Family Fiesta was honored in July with the 2008 Outstanding Products award by iParenting Media Awards, a Disney company. Children patients, their families and Miami Children’s Hospital staff are invited. Baby Abuelita dolls and books will be raffled as part of this event.
At this celebratory event, information will also be distributed about Baby Abuelita’s Sing, Abuelita, Sing! contest. As part of the company’s desire to preserve the heritage from one generation to another, people of all ages can enter for the chance to win one of two Sing Abuelita Sing contests. The entire family can participate by either singing a traditional lullaby or nursery rhyme or by submitting a drawing or photo of family members that resemble one of the Baby Abuelita characters: Abuelita Rosa, Abuelito Pancho, Baby Andrea or Baby Tita.
Sing Abuelita Sing is a contest for the entire family, as an effort to embrace the family heritage. Dress up in a bata de casa, put on a pair of gafas or sing “Arroz con Leche” and submit your entry to Sing Abuelita Sing. Full contest rules and regulations can be found on the company website at www.babyabuelita.com.
Founded in 2005, Baby Abuelita Productions was created by a pair of working mothers — Hilda Argilagos-Jimenez, a dance teacher and Carol Fenster, a psychotherapist. “We wanted to create a doll that preserved tradition and warm memories,” said co-founder Carol Fenster. “But our dolls have managed to do that and more. We get emails from teachers and parents who are using these dolls to educate their children and teach them Spanish, which is a wonderful thing.”
Baby Abuelita dolls, books, and DVD are available at a wide variety of Wal Mart and Toys R Us locations and online at

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Wal-Mart is pulling a popular Mexican comic book featuring a protagonist with exaggerated black features following complaints from a Houston customer who said “Memin Pinguin” was racist.”*

Palm Beach County is getting its first look at a smaller, gentler retail giant.

Wal-Mart opened its first Neighborhood Market here last week, a format aimed at taking a bite from its grocery competitors. The Greenacres store is at State Road 7 and Lake Worth Road - right down the street from a Publix.”*

Last week, Wal-Mart de Mexico announced it is the company with the best corporate governance in Mexico and the fourth best in Latin America according to Spanish consulting company Management and Excellence (M&E) which rates 50 non-banking sector companies in the region. In the group, there are 25 Brazilian companies and 14 Mexican companies.

The study uses metrics from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) to evaluate several corporate governance subjects such as board of director’s responsibility, shareholders’ rights, audit committees’ guidelines, transparency practices and the use of good governance policies.

“Integrity is above anything else in Wal-Mart de Mexico. We understand that the only way to pass on our value proposition to our customers, meet shareholders’ expectations, foster associate growth, and contribute towards improving the quality of life for Mexican families is having good corporate governance, one that is ethical, disciplined, transparent and efficient. Being considered the company with the best corporate governance in Mexico is a huge responsibility, and a challenge to continue generating value for Mexico,” said Raul Arguelles, Sr. VP for Corporate Affairs and People Division for Wal-Mart de Mexico.

This is the second time Wal-Mart de Mexico has been recognized by M&E as a leading company in Mexico. In May 2007, WMM was named the company with the highest sustainability, governance and corporate social responsibility in Mexico. Also, WMM is the only Mexican company among the first ten companies in this field in Latin America

With these initiatives Wal-Mart de Mexico reaffirms its commitment to improve the quality of life for Mexican families.

Committed to a better Mexico

Wal-Mart de Mexico S. A. de C.V. (BMV: WALMEX) is a retail company whose vision is to contribute towards improving the quality of life for Mexican families. It has several business formats, including self-service stores (Bodega Aurrera, Wal-Mart Supercenter and Superama), membership warehouse clubs (Sam’s Club), apparel stores (Suburbia) and restaurants (Vips, El Porton and Ragazzi), amounting to 1,045 units. In 2008, Wal-Mart de Mexico received the Socially Responsible Company award for the eighth consecutive year.

Robert Morales was the latest person to come to this realization when he and business partner Carlos Cruz went to Miami to participate in the company’s Business-to-Business Expo last week. More than 400 small-business owners attended the event, which was the fourth Wal-Mart has held in various locales.

Morales and Cruz, who own Black Bean Cuban Cuisine on Apalachee Parkway, saw the event as an opportunity to grow their budding food-service business. The pair started Sofritos Foods in 2005 and since then have provided food products for the military.”*

“The Media Audit - Retail Case Study: Hispanics Shopping Less at Sears and Kmart

According to a four year national retail study from The Media Audit, Sears and Kmart are among the biggest losers of Hispanic shoppers, while Wal Mart and Target are the biggest gainers. The study, which was conducted in more than 80 local markets in the U.S., reveals that 31.3% of Hispanics shopped at Kmart in 2004, compared to 51.2% in 2001.”