COLUMBIA, Md., April 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Smithfield Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Smithfield Foods, Inc., and The Global Good Fund, are pleased to announce their partnership to launch the Veterans Leadership Program. The Global Good Fund, a leadership development enterprise built by and for social entrepreneurs, will identify six veteran entrepreneurs to take part in an eight-month program focused on creating sustainable jobs and supporting job search and placement for underemployed and unemployed veterans.

According to the Small Business Administration, there are 2.5 million veteran-owned businesses that employ more than 5 million people. While many military leadership traits translate well into business, many veteran entrepreneurs face unique challenges in growing and scaling their businesses.

"Smithfield's generous support of the Veterans Leadership Program will provide new learning opportunities and resources for our participants — catalysts for personal and professional development," said Carrie Rich, co-founder and chief executive officer of The Global Good Fund. "This partnership speaks to Smithfield's impressive commitment to finding innovative ways of making a long-term impact for veterans."

Funded by a $400,000 grant from the Smithfield Foundation, the Veterans Leadership Program will support the needs of its participants through personalized leadership development, executive mentoring, and targeted capital to invigorate leadership growth.

"Part of Smithfield's social purpose is to honor the service and sacrifice of American veterans. As such, we are proud to support veteran social entrepreneurs as they build successful businesses. Through social entrepreneurship, these companies will not only benefit veterans, but also provide solutions to social issues. As a company firmly rooted in sustainability, this is a ‘win win'," said Keira Lombardo, senior vice president of corporate affairs for Smithfield Foods and president of the Smithfield Foundation. "We are committed to showing our gratitude for these men and women and look forward to witnessing the enduring impact the Veterans Leadership Program will have for years to come."

Smithfield has a long history of supporting veterans and military families through volunteerism, food and charitable donations, and partnerships. In 2016, Smithfield introduced two new veterans' initiatives — Operation 4000! and Smithfield Salutes. Smithfield Salutes is an employee engagement program that helps veterans working at Smithfield in their transition to civilian life. Through Operation 4000!, Smithfield is working to employ 4,000 veterans—10 percent of its U.S. workforce—by 2020.

To learn more about Smithfield's support of veterans, visit smithfieldfoods.com/veterans.

For more information about The Global Good Fund, please visit globalgoodfund.org.

About Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including SmithfieldⓇ, EckrichⓇ, Nathan's FamousⓇ, FarmlandⓇ, ArmourⓇ, Farmer JohnⓇ, KretschmarⓇ, John MorrellⓇ, Cook'sⓇ, GwaltneyⓇ, CarandoⓇ, MargheritaⓇ, Curly'sⓇ, Healthy OnesⓇ, MorlinyⓇ, KrakusⓇ and BerlinkiⓇ. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.

About The Global Good Fund
Through its Fellowship program, The Global Good Fund invests in the human capital of high potential leaders committed to social impact around the world.  Fellows are individually paired with senior business executives who serve as mentors and are provided with seasoned leadership development coaches, assessment resources, a network of peer leaders, content expertise, and targeted financial capital.   The Global Good Fund created the 360 MIRROR — the first evidence-based leadership assessment for social entrepreneurs and impact driven corporate leaders — which is available to the public, modeled after the proven tools and services of The Global Good Fund Fellowship since its launch in 2012.

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