Downingtown resident wins “Walmart’s Got Talent” for U.S.
Photo courtesy of Walmart Stores Sandi Chadwick, of Downingtown, receives her award at the Walmart shareholder’s meeting on Wednesday, June 5, in Arkansas. Chadwick is a standup comedian and entered “Walmart’s Got Talent” earlier this year. She was voted as one of four regional winners worldwide.
Sandi Chadwick, of Downingtown, stood in front of a few thousand people at the Walmart shareholder’s U.S. meeting last week to tell them about the miracle suit – a bathing suit with miraculous reducing fibers that claims to make any women look like a size two.
“I saw that the miracle suit had indeed done everything that it promised it would do,” she said in a YouTube clip of her performance at another venue. But the suit only thinned her midsection. “My thighs looked like a can of refrigerator biscuits had exploded. Picture the Pillsbury dough boy in a corset.”
Chadwick is a standup comedian, and with her piece on the miracle suit she was voted the U.S. regional winner in “Walmart’s Got Talent” – a competition open to all Walmart associates and the first of its kind. She has worked as an optician at the Walmart Vision Center in West Whiteland for nine years.
read moreVeterans For Hire at Walmart
Not long ago, Matt Romano was in a long line at a military job fair waiting to speak with an FBI recruiter when he struck up a conversation with a hiring manager from Walmart.
The Army veteran was looking for an employer who could use the skills and experience he gained in four years of military service, including logistics management, stress management and leadership.
“I was looking to do something that I felt would be a natural transition, like FBI or DEA,” said Romano, a Bensalem native who now lives in Philadelphia. “For most military people, it seems a good transition.”
Portfolio: Walmart Giving Exceeds $1 Billion
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation announced that over the last fiscal year they gave more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind contributions, making it the first time Walmart or any U.S. retailer has achieved that level of giving.
The growth in global giving was largely due to increased in-kind donations in the U.S. to local food banks and families impacted by disasters.
In Pennsylvania, Walmart gave more than $19.7 million, supporting nonprofits such as Philabundance, the Urban League of Philadelphia, Cradles to Crayons, Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA, Dress for Success and the Philly Police Athletic League, the retail giant said.
Lutheran Settlement House Expands Community Garden and Food Pantry in Fishtown
When Kelly Davis started working at the Lutheran Settlement House (LSH) two years ago, the building’s food pantry was open just once a month due to a lack of storage space for fresh fruits and vegetables.
Soon after, as Davis was returning home, she noticed that a senior citizen served by LSH was picking through a trashcan for food. This would prove to be a turning point for Davis and the long-established community center.
“It struck me that this should not be the case,” said Davis, who is now executive director of LSH. She added that, “often times, the lunch that our seniors get in our center is the only meal they eat.”
Walmart Volunteers Plant 24 Garden Beds at Frankford Ave. Urban Farm
On April 24, volunteers from Lutheran Settlement House, 1340 Frankford Ave., Walmart, and the Federation of Neighborhood Centers (FNC) helped build 24 garden beds as part of a new urban farm at 1400 Frankford Ave.
The farm will be the harvesting site for FNC’s Teens 4 Good (T4G) program, a youth-led food production and nutrition business that will teach teens job skills and supply food for LSH’s food cupboard.
Walmart Donates $100,000 For Peer Mentoring Peter Van Allen
The Walmart Foundation donated $100,000 to the Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia, the nonprofit said Monday.
The funds will be used for the Salvation Army’s peer-mentoring program, which serves parents who are struggling with hunger and food insecurity while raising young children.
Overall through 2015, Walmart has earmarked $2 billion in cash- and in-kind commitments for programs that help break the cycle of poverty, violence and hunger in America.
Philly’s Salvation Army Gets $100,000 Donation
The Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia is getting a $100,000 donation from the Walmart Foundation to help fight hunger and poverty.
A spokesman for the human-services agency said the gift will be presented next Thursday.
The agency will use the money to support its new Peer Mentoring Program, which is based on Witnesses to Hunger, part of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities at Drexel University’s School of Public Health.
Walmart Donates $100,000 For Peer Mentoring
The Walmart Foundation donated $100,000 to the Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia, the nonprofit said Monday. The funds will be used for the Salvation Army’s peer-mentoring program, which serves parents who are struggling with hunger and food insecurity while raising young children. Overall through 2015, Walmart has earmarked $2 billion in cash- and in-kind commitments for programs that help break the cycle of poverty, violence and hunger in America.
Corporate Philanthropy Summit: A Testament to Walmart Good Works (Slideshow)
More than 300 people attended the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 2013 Corporate Philanthropy Summit April 25 at the Sheraton City Center to honor the region’s top donors. Walmart launched the Fighting Hunger Together initiative in 2010 because our company is in a unique position to make a big impact on the challenge of hunger. This issue is of serious concern in the Philadelphia region, which the 1st Congressional District found to be one of the hungriest places in the United States.
Salvation Army and Walmart Partner to Break the Cycle of Poverty, Violence, and Hunger in Philadelphia
Walmart Corporation Donates $100,000 to Salvation Army Program Inspiring Mentorship Opportunities
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (April 29, 2013) – On May 9, The Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia will accept a donation from The Walmart Foundation towards its programs to help break the cycle of poverty, violence, and hunger in the city. The $100,000 donation will support The Salvation Army’s new Peer Mentoring Program which is based upon the successful Witnesses to Hunger program partnership with the Center for Hunger-Free Communities at the Drexel University School of Public Health.
The donation will allow The Salvation Army to establish a similar program using Witnesses to Hunger’s “Peer Mentor Model” at several of its neighborhood community centers for one year to provide far-reaching access for city residents in need of social services. The program will run daily at The Salvation Army Temple Corps Community Center located at 1340 Brown Street in center city, and will run once weekly at The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center as well as The Salvation Army Tabernacle Corps Community Center located at 3150 North Mascher Street. The Tabernacle Center will offer a bilingual peer mentor to serve the Hispanic community. Three part-time mentors will share the responsibilities of leading sessions.
“Walmart and the Salvation Army have a long history of partnering in Philadelphia to address some of the most important and urgent issues facing city residents, like hunger and emergency response,” said Jason Klipa, Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations, Walmart Stores. “Walmart is very proud to continue our partnership with the Salvation Army by supporting the Peer Mentoring pilot program in North Philadelphia and building upon one of our core areas of focus, fighting hunger in America. Walmart has dedicated $2 billion in cash and in-kind commitments through 2015 toward this goal and the Peer Mentoring Program is an important part of that effort in Philadelphia.”
The Peer Mentoring Program will serve parents who struggle with hunger and food insecurity who are raising young children. The Salvation Army will lead several 12-week-long series of “SELF Groups,” which touch upon Safety, Emotions, Loss, and Future in order to provide the following services to clients:
- Counseling from mothers who have struggled with food insecurity in the past
- Individual support focused on health and wellness
- On-site training in computer and financial literacy to promote independence
- Referrals for additional social services
Sandy Sheller, assistant clinical professor at the Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions and longtime volunteer with The Salvation Army, learned of Dr. Mariana Chilton’s photo journalism project with Witnesses to Hunger and noticed the great synergy between the missions of both organizations.
“Many people in our community find themselves in predicaments where they need social services or food assistance, but their pride is damaged along the way,” Sheller said. “The Salvation Army has been an amazing organization for the community, and shares the same morals and principles as the Witnesses to Hunger program mission. More than just receiving a handout, witnesses in the program learn to manage emotions and the effects of trauma on their lives.”
“We are so excited about the implementation of this new program for our community,” Susan Brotherton, director of social services for The Salvation Army, said. “We’re extremely grateful for this new partnership with Walmart, which will raise the standards of holistic care in the city of Philadelphia and will help us to serve those in the most need.”
For more information about The Salvation Army’s efforts to support our struggling neighbors, visit www.SalvationArmyPhiladelphia.org.
About The Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia:
The Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia is a faith-based, comprehensive human service organization whose programs help individuals, families and whole communities lead healthier, safer and more productive lives. The Salvation Army is equipped to respond to both acute disasters such as fires and floods as well as the daily, ongoing struggles of the region’s less fortunate individuals. The Army has a 134-year record of accomplishment of success stemming from its holistic approach to providing for the needs of the whole individual – physically, emotionally, economically and spiritually. The Army’s programming operates from 16 community centers and residential facilities throughout the Philadelphia region offering shelter, hot meals, counseling, early childhood development, recreational opportunities, music programs, after-school arts and educational programs, job training, activities for older adults, spiritual development, and drug rehabilitation. For more information, please visit www.SalvationArmyPhiladelphia.org.
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