Walmart Foundation awards WCNY $50,000 grant

SYRACUSE — The Walmart Foundation has awarded WCNY a grant of $50,000 to help with its Enterprise America program.

The funding, awarded through the Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program, will help pay for tuition and transportation costs for students in WCNY’s Enterprise America program, WCNY said in a news release.

WCNY refers to itself as Central New York’s public-broadcasting company.

These funds will be “crucial” in supporting Enterprise America, a program that will be available to 3,000 schools within a two-hour radius of Syracuse with a potential reach of 700,000 students in grade five through nine,” Robert Daino, president and CEO of WCNY, said in the news release.

“The first of its kind in New York … Enterprise America will provide students with hands-on learning that is crucial for college preparation and future career success,” Daino said.

The program involves a minimum of three weeks of classroom instruction. Teachers use WCNY-provided curriculum that’s aligned to state and present-day learning standards, WCNY said.

Following the completion of classroom study, students spend a day in WCNY’s Enterprise America city, which they are responsible for operating.

Once in the city, students will apply the science, technology, engineering and math, and financial and civic-literacy skills they have learned to run the city’s 14 businesses and City Hall.

The students become business entrepreneurs and employees, consumers and citizens, according to WCNY.

The Walmart Foundation will present a check to WCNY during a ceremony scheduled for 1 p.m. on Wednesday at the WCNY’s Broadcast and Education Center at 415 W. Fayette St. in Syracuse.

Walmart Foundation is the charitable giving arm of Bentonville, Ark–based Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

Eligible applicants for awards through the Walmart Foundation State Giving Program must have a current 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt status and meet other criteria, according to the news release.

In New York, a team of local Walmart store associates reviews eligible grant applications and makes funding recommendations to the Walmart Foundation, WCNY said.

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation in 2012 gave more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind contributions globally. The awards included $1 billion in cash and in-kind gifts in the U.S. and $82.2 million in cash and in-kind gifts in international markets, according to the news release.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com