Kohl’s Reinforces Commitment to Milwaukee Hometown Partners With More Than $2 Million in Donations
July 18 2022 - 12:02PM
Business Wire
Kohl’s hometown partner renewals illustrate the
company’s ongoing commitment to improving quality of life in
Milwaukee BIPOC communities
As a continuation of the company’s ongoing commitment to
diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), as well as family health and
wellness, Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) announced today it is strengthening
its support of the Milwaukee community with commitments totaling
more than $2 million to eight nonprofit hometown partners. This
renewal includes five hometown partners that help advance BIPOC
communities, making progress against the company’s commitment to
give $20 million in support of diverse communities by 2025. Through
Kohl’s Hometown Partnerships, local nonprofits are able to continue
programs that provide access to art and culture, health and social
services, and other opportunities, including economic empowerment
and neighborhood development. With these commitments, Kohl’s will
continue its partnerships with Acts Housing, Boys & Girls Club
of Greater Milwaukee, Employ Milwaukee, Greater Milwaukee Urban
League, Milwaukee Art Museum, Ronald McDonald House Charities
Eastern Wisconsin, Safe & Sound, and Zoological Society of
Milwaukee.
“Kohl’s is committed to serving families in the Milwaukee
community, and we are proud to support these organizations that
make a positive impact in our hometown,” said Tara Geiter, Kohl’s
director of community relations. “Kohl’s hometown partners touch a
wide range of social causes, which continue to be a priority for
our community. We are excited to help these organizations expand
their reach, and we look forward to deepening these hometown
partnerships in the years to come.”
“The hometown partnership with Kohl’s has helped us to amplify
our reach and expand our workforce development programming impact
in multiple areas ranging from digital literacy to transportation
solutions to name a few,” said Employ Milwaukee President & CEO
Chytania Brown. “We are grateful for the renewal of the partnership
and look forward to ongoing collaboration with such a
community-minded corporate partner.”
The Milwaukee-based organizations will leverage the donations
from Kohl’s to meet the needs of the local community, including but
not limited to:
- Acts Housing - Kohl's $500,000 grant over two years will
help increase the number of Black and Brown individuals and
families who receive pre-approval for home loans and who purchase
homes for owner-occupancy in Milwaukee. Kohl's funding will help
underwrite the continued work of building and executing robust
programming, specifically for families who face the most barriers
to homeownership, as well as develop workshop series and financial
incentives to assist local Milwaukee families. As Acts Housing and
Kohl’s near the end of the partnership’s second grant term, as of
June, over 4,700 visitors have visited Acts Housing’s website to
view virtual orientation, 25 new home loans were administered by
Acts Lending and over 200 housewarming baskets were delivered to
new homeowners.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee - Through
this $275,000 donation, Kohl’s funding will enable Boys & Girls
Clubs of Greater Milwaukee to continue to provide access to
leadership and character programs within the Clubs, including
mentoring, community involvement, social-emotional well-being, and
college and career planning. Over the next year, Kohl’s will work
with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee to increase civic
engagement and advocacy, offer leadership development through the
Youth of the Year Program and implement social justice community
initiatives. In the 2020 term, this partnership assisted Boys &
Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee in serving over 479,000 meals
through the meal continuation program and in Club locations, and
adjusted over 150 classrooms to accommodate safe, socially
distanced Club activities.
- Employ Milwaukee - With this $250,000 grant, Employ
Milwaukee will work to further advance and scale its DEI efforts by
enhancing Basic IT skills training, device distribution, connection
to free and reduced quality internet, and expansion of virtual
service delivery platform. Spanning one year, this renewal will
allow Milwaukee County participants to increase employment
opportunities, promote economic advancement as well as connect
underserved populations to the proper technology, knowledge and
resources. Through this partnership, Employ Milwaukee’s Strong
Families Strategy has connected families to multiple resources they
can use to reach their full potential, resulting in over 1,200
youth benefiting from summer youth employment. In addition, Employ
Milwaukee’s Digital Equity Strategy, which improves technology
equipment ownership and skill building, has connected 50
individuals in BIPOC communities to devices and broadband service,
as well as trained 50 individuals in basic IT skills.
- Greater Milwaukee Urban League - Kohl’s $100,000
donation will support Greater Milwaukee Urban League’s mission to
lead through education, employment and advocacy to achieve economic
vibrancy and equal access to all industries and disciplines that
position Black communities to create wealth and live a better
quality of life. This one year renewal will also support the
organization's 2022 Black & White Ball.
- Milwaukee Art Museum - With this $500,000 grant,
Kohl’s will offer free admission for children 12 and under, and
raise awareness of this benefit within traditionally underserved
Milwaukee communities. The two-year grant will also support Kohl’s
Art Studio, where the Milwaukee Art Museum will continue to offer
drop-in art making for families, as well as expand Kohl’s Art
Studio online for broader reach, and extend Kohl’s Art Studio into
the community by providing art making at Milwaukee festivals and
events. Now in the partnership’s fifth grant term, Kohl’s and the
Milwaukee Art Museum have engaged families in art-filled
experiences since 2008. From 2019 to 2022, the Milwaukee Art Museum
has seen the participation in Kohl’s family programming touch more
than 249,000 individuals and more than 63,700 visitors online. The
Museum has also welcomed nearly 14,000 children 12 and under
through Kohl’s free admission funding during this time.
- Ronald McDonald House Charities® Eastern Wisconsin
- Through this $150,000 donation over two years, Ronald
McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Eastern Wisconsin will provide a
spectrum of supportive programs for families with children seeking
medical care at an area hospital. Programs include creative arts
therapies and hospitality bag items for families calling the Ronald
McDonald House “home,” as well as the Happy Wheels Hospitality
Cart, serving families at Children's Wisconsin. Over the past year,
the Hospitality Cart has served more than 1,700 people.
- Safe & Sound - Kohl’s $350,000 funding will
allow Safe & Sound to continue its mission to provide safe
neighborhoods for all residents in Milwaukee. Over the next two
years, Safe & Sound and Kohl’s will work to create neighborhood
coalitions to survey local communities, develop and implement
neighborhood action plans focused on safety and community
resources, assess the impact of the collective impact strategy in
current neighborhoods, and evaluate how progress in these
neighborhoods has prepared for expansion into additional diverse
neighborhoods. Now in the second grant term, Safe & Sound has
collected over 500 impact surveys across the five identified
neighborhoods and has hosted nine data chats discussing survey
results with community members. The organization has also held five
focus groups hosted with adult and youth community members.
- Zoological Society of Milwaukee - Kohl’s $500,000
grant will allow the Zoological Society of Milwaukee to offer
Kohl's Wild Theater as a way to provide fun, educational,
conservation-themed theater performances using drama, songs and
puppetry to engage children and their families. The two-year grant
term will expand Kohl's Wild Theater’s conservation-themed
educational shows into schools within 60 miles of the Milwaukee
County Zoo, as well as fund on-stage performances at the zoo from
Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day on the Kohl’s Wild Theater
Stage. Visitors will also be able to check out interactive
activities near animal habitats, such as magic tricks and games,
that also teach conservation lessons. As Kohl’s and Zoological
Society of Milwaukee finish out the partnership’s fourth grant
term, the organization has made great strides in conservation
education with local communities. Over the past three years
specifically, the Zoological Society of Milwaukee has served over
20,000 individuals and offered over 350 performances at Kohl’s Wild
Theater Stage. The organization has also been able to expand its
outreach performances to more than 1,300 locations, serving more
than 220,000 individuals.
Kohl’s Hometown Volunteer
Initiative
Kohl's is also a supporter of our hometown partners through our
associate volunteering efforts. Through the Kohl’s Volunteer
Program, when associates volunteer their time to hometown partners,
Kohl’s will donate $50 for each hour served to the benefitting
nonprofit, amplifying the impact of their service. Throughout
Kohl’s history, the company has given more than $144 million to
Milwaukee nonprofits.
To learn more about Kohl’s commitment to local partners in the
Milwaukee community, visit Corporate.Kohls.com. For more details
about other ways Kohl’s is helping the community for the benefit of
our associates, customers and other stakeholders, please refer to
our 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance Report.
About Kohl's
Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) is a leading omnichannel retailer. With more
than 1,100 stores in 49 states and the online convenience of
Kohls.com and the Kohl's App, Kohl's offers amazing national and
exclusive brands at incredible savings for families nationwide.
Kohl’s is uniquely positioned to deliver against its strategy and
its vision to be the most trusted retailer of choice for the active
and casual lifestyle. Kohl’s is committed to progress in its
diversity and inclusion pledges, and the company's environmental,
social and corporate governance (ESG) stewardship. For a list of
store locations or to shop online, visit Kohls.com. For more
information about Kohl’s impact in the community or how to join our
winning team, visit Corporate.Kohls.com or follow @KohlsNews on
Twitter.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220718005631/en/
Media Contact Jared Ellerson, jared.ellerson@kohls.com,
262-709-2911
Community Relations Contact Tara Geiter,
tara.geiter@kohls.com, 262-703-6312
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