By Juliette Jardim
June 29, 2009

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Providence Mayor David Cicilline were honored for their excellence in green jobs training, receiving Wal-Mart Foundation Green Jobs Training Initiative grants to expand job training at non-profit organizations in their cities.

"Energy, climate protection and green jobs have been top priorities in our work with mayors, Congress and the Administration, specifically our efforts to enact a new energy block grant program and the Green Jobs Act," said, Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director and CEO Tom Cochran. "The Wal-Mart Foundation's generous support of our Green Jobs Training Initiative enables us to continue this important work in building a green workforce in cities."

The awards were presented by Ray Bracy, Senior Vice President of U.S. Government Relations & Public Affairs of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., at the 77th Annual Conference of Mayors in Providence.

"The U.S. Conference of Mayors, through its Green Jobs Taskforce, is providing leadership, advocacy, best practices and technical assistance to mayors and cities across the country to ensure that we, as a nation, are poised to successfully build the green economy," said Bracy. "Wal-Mart is pleased to partner with The U.S. Conference of Mayors in their efforts to lay an important foundation for identifying the strategies that will help to move the needle for the creation of green jobs."

Daley was awarded the Large'size City Award of $700,000 for the Greencorps Chicago program, which trains disadvantaged Chicago residents in eco-restoration, community gardens, plant distribution, landscaping, electronics and hazardous waste recycling and weatherization projects.

Foster won one of the four Medium'size City Award of $550,000 for the Conservation Corps of Long Beach program, which trains at-risk youth (18-25) in a one-year pre-apprenticeship training program focused on recycling, natural resource conservation, drought-resistant landscaping, and energy and water conservation.

Barrett was awarded a Medium'size City Award of $550,000 for the Milwaukee Conservation Leadership Corps, a seven-week high school summer program providing hands-on education components and employment experience in conservation work such as restoration and stewardship of open spaces and urban park management and care.

Newsom received a Medium'size City Award of $550,000 for the SF Works/City Build Academy, a public/private/community and labor partnership which trains economically disadvantaged residents in asbestos abatement and solar installation. With help from the grant, the program plans to expand its curriculum to include energy efficiency, weatherization, solar, biodiesel and brownfield remediation training.

Slay was awarded a Medium-size City Award of $550,000 for the St. Patrick Center Project Go! Green program, which consists of two parts: 1) The City Seeds Urban Farm Project which trains homeless individuals in green horticulture—preparing them for jobs in landscaping, turf maintenance, nurseries, gardening retailers, grounds-keeping, arboriculture, floriculture and other green-care jobs; and 2) The Go! Network, created this year to train professionals who have lost their jobs due to the current economic crisis in biofuels production and related fields.

Cicilline was awarded the Small'size City Award of $372,500 for the Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living program, which trains Workforce Investment Act-eligible participants to become energy auditors. With the grant, they plan to expand the program to include an 8th grade green literacy program and a "Whole Home Health, Energy Efficiency, and Green Construction" training program.