Military Recruitment

Programs & Partnerships

Sears Holdings is dedicated to this nations armed forces both unattached and attached. As an employer of so many veterans and reservists however, we take extra steps to make sure those that are attached get the utmost consideration. That’s why Sears Holdings has programs specifically designed to support and develop our veterans and reservists. Here at Sears we have dedicated ourselves to taking care of our employees. This year Sears signed a five star statement of support with the Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). In doing so Sears pledged they would go “above and beyond” to support their employees in the Guard and Reserve. Also, To help our employees grow and develop Sears also has programs like the Department of Defense Fellowship Program, to Allow senior level active duty military personnel with logistics experience to work at Sears Holdings while they pursue higher education. Sears Holdings take care of our military veterans much in the same way our military veterans took care of us.

Today, Sears is partnered with the US Navy's Transition Assistance Program (TAP), the Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS), the Army Spouse Employment Partnership (ASEP), and many others. Another partnership Sears Holdings is particularly proud of is with Rebuilding Together. Sears Holdings, by collecting donations at Sears and Kmart stores throughout the country, in addition to its own donation, is hoping to raise one million dollars to help servicemen make critical repairs and renovations to their homes. Programs like this, and the ongoing Operation Purple summer camp program, are what Sears Holdings stands for, backing our servicemen and women and their spouses to create a better tomorrow.

For our Associates

Associate Military Mentoring Program

Because careers are seldom straight lines, because jobs are seldom fixed in stone, and because our work/life interests may shift many times, building a solid mentoring relationship provides a chance to:

• Talk to an objective, trusted person about your concerns, hopes, and aspirations
• Ask for and receive candid feedback on how you might grow and advance
• Gather information about career paths
• Help you navigate the tricky political waters of a very large organization
• Focus on positive solutions
• Grow your network
• Develop new skills
• Think creatively about your future

Department of Defense Fellowship Program

• Allows senior level active duty military personnel with logistics experience to work at Sears Holdings corporate headquarters and field units for one year in lieu of continuing education at a service-related school.
• Both the military and Sears benefit from sharing the service member's experience and leadership skills.
• Nine members from Army and Marine Corps have participated for more than five years

Military Network Business Coach Program
The Business Coach Program is designed to help ease the transition from military work life to civilian work life. The Sears Holdings Associate Military Network believes that having someone to talk to who has faced the same transition issues is important.

For Our Communities

Sears Holdings Memorial Day Wall of Honor

During Memorial Day 2007 Sears and Kmart stores all across the nation encouraged store employees as well as the public to bring in photos of their friends and family in the service to put on a board to commemorate their outstanding service to the Nation  The boards have been left up through the Fourth of July to show Sears Holdings’s strong support of our men and women in uniform and to those who have served in the past.

Operation Purple

• Through a grant of nearly $2.5 million to the National Military Family Association (NMFA), Sears Holdings was the exclusive sponsor of "Operation Purple Summer Camps," a series of camps for children of deployed military personnel.
• Sears Holdings's donation is the largest in NMFA's history.
• Funding is part of the Sears American Dream Campaign, a multi-year $100 million commitment to strengthen families, homes and communities nationwide.
• Operation Purple is the first camp to bring together children of deployed parents from all branches of the armed forces, including the National Guard and Reserves.
• In 2005, more than 2,500 children, ages 8 to 18, at 23 camps participated in typical camp activities and special programs to teach strategies for dealing with deployment-related stress.
• In 2004, nearly 1,000 children participated in 12 camps.
   

Keepsake Book: "A Tribute to Military Families: Letters of Thanks from Our Nation's Children"

• Sears and NMFA published the keepsake book to celebrate the importance of military families and raise awareness of their contributions to the strength of the U.S. military force.
• Book features 100 essays written by children from fourth through sixth grade as part of an essay contest sponsored by Sears and NMFA.
• Half the essays feature children writing about why they are proud of their family member serving in the military.
• The other essays feature children writing about why they appreciate the families of service members.
• Out of the more than 1,000 entries, a distinguished judging panel helped select the essays included in book, including Gen. Richard Myers, chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.
• Copies of the book were distributed to:
• Every municipal public library in the country.
• Almost every major U.S. military installation in the world.
• Every Member of the U.S. Congress.
• National and local media outlets.
• Books were sold on sears.com with proceeds benefiting NMFA.

HomeFront Cards

• To honor military families as part of the Sears American Dream Campaign, Sears sold HomeFront Cards in its Full-line stores nationwide.
• The greeting card outreach program gave customers the opportunity to thank military families for their courage and sacrifice.
• Proceeds benefited NMFA to benefit "Operation Purple."
• The cards will be available for $2 between April 17 and May 16, while supplies last. Completes cards were delivered to military families across the country living on or near installations with high deployments.

Heroes at Home is a program Sears Holdings has created in partnership with Rebuilding Together in response to an urgent need to assist military families facing hardship. Rebuilding Together, the nation’s largest all volunteer home rehabilitation organization, is committed to bringing warmth, safety and accessibility to homeowners who do not have the financial or physical resources to complete home repairs and other necessary improvements.

By providing necessary repairs or adaptations to homes, Sears Holdings strives to improve the lives of military families across America. Heroes at Home is one of the many initiatives through which Sears Holdings acknowledges the sacrifice made by our troops every day in the line of duty, while supporting and honoring those heroes who remain at home.


NASCAR and Craftsman event at Ft. Bragg, NC

NASCAR and Craftsman teamed up to support our troops at Ft. Bragg, NC, on May 11. Ft. Bragg is known as the home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces and houses 45,000 active duty personnel and 10,500 family members. The event was held at the Ft. Bragg's Post Exchange (PX) store, a no-tax retailer for military personnel and their families. PX Store manager Jason Rosenberg assisted in pushing the NASCAR truck out onto the store main entrance, where 12 sets of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series tickets were given away to lucky winners. The NASCAR truck, along with a Craftsman tools promotion, generated lots of excitement and increased foot traffic to the store.

Have a Heart for Military Families Program

This Valentine's season, Sears and Kmart customers and associates showed their heart for military families by donating more than $300,000 towards the "Have a Heart for Military Families" program. The initiative, held in stores from February 9-11, will benefit Fisher House, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing "a home away from home" for injured military members and their families. USA Cares Sears Holding Corporation welcomed the season of giving by announcing its partnership with USA Cares, an international charity dedicated to serving members of the armed forces and their families. As part of this partnership, the retailer will spearhead a charitable initiative on its holiday website, readysetholiday.com. Along with merchandise from Sears, Kmart and Lands' End, the site offers Mom solutions for all her holiday needs and through USA Cares, it provides an opportunity for customers to share in the joy of giving while touching the lives of military families facing hardship.