Like many families, the military has been a part of my life for many years. My grandfather was in the Army, my husband was in the Marine Corps, his grandpa and uncles were in the Army, and his Step Dad was in the Marine Corps, and even now, many of our friends are either Active Duty or Retired from some branch of service.

Walmart believes strongly in supporting those who have given the most to our country, and on this Veterans Day, Walmart is proud to announce the hiring of more than 20,000 veterans since the launch of its Welcome Home Commitment on Memorial Day this year.  Walmart is committed to offering a job to any honorably discharged veteran within his or her first twelve months off active duty.  Walmart projected hiring and training more than 100,000 veterans over the next five years.

In addition to this hiring commitment, the Walmart Foundation will donate $20 million through 2015 to help veterans and their families prepare for successful civilian lives through job training, transition support and education.

Also on Veterans Day, Walmart announced its holiday giving commitment with a $2 million donation to Operation Homefront and Fisher House to provide toys, meals and lodging to military families in greatest need of support this year.  The donation will also help hundreds of active duty service members come home for the holidays.

For most Americans, the holidays are a time to celebrate and gather with loved ones, but for our nation’s service members, military families and veterans, the holidays can be a difficult time. Nearly 50 percent of our nation’s active duty military members are parents, and many spouses and children remain at home while a service member is deployed. Despite the courage and strength upheld by military families year-round, separation can be financially and emotionally exhausting, especially during the holidays. Walmart’s “Holiday Salute to Military Families” is meant to help ease the burdens that service members, military families and veterans face during the holiday season by providing toys, meals and opportunities for families to spend time together.

Walmart will be giving $1.5 million to Operation Homefront to provide 25,000 toys and more than 17,000 meals to military families nationwide. This gift also will help bring home 500 active duty service members to spend the holidays with their families.Walmart will also make the largest single donation to the Fisher House “Sponsor a Family” program with a $500,000 grant to provide a home away from home for families with a service member in the hospital for an illness, disease or injury. The funding will provide 50,000 nights of free lodging for families so they can be close to their loved one.

Operation Homefront and Fisher House are joining Walmart by offering all Americans the chance to give back to those who have given the most for our country. How can you help? Individuals can make donations to one or both military organizations by:

• Visiting fisherhouse.org/Walmart to make a donation and salute Fisher House’s “Sponsor a Family” program to provide additional lodging assistance to families with a service member in the hospital being treated for an illness, disease or injury.

• Visiting www.operationhomefront.net/walmart to make a donation and salute our military families this holiday season.

Want to “Salute” the Veterans in your life? You can also celebrate our nation’s heroes with Walmart’s Wall of Honor at walmart.com/wallofhonor, an online venue where anyone can recognize and share a story about the veterans in their lives, or join the conversation by following @WalmartVeterans on Twitter.