We are living through an uncertain and difficult time, when it sometimes seems that life as we once knew it may never return.

Amid the cascading challenges of this moment, how do we stay anchored? Where do we find our resolve to tackle big challenges with clarity and purpose?

For the Walton Family Foundation, we rely on our values. Now more than ever we need to lean into the values that guide us in how we treat one another and how we conduct ourselves in our daily lives.

For many, values are instilled by parents and family. For others, it is life experiences. And for some, it is both.

The Walton Family Foundation is guided by five core values that shape our approach to giving and how we carry out our mission to create access to opportunity for people and communities.

The foundation is rooted in the places we work and in a family legacy of giving back.

We are active in our work with grantees and in enabling individuals to take an active role in determining their futures.

The foundation is steady in our focused approach to creating lasting change.

We are bold in our belief about what’s possible and in tackling big, complex problems.

We are open about who we are and to finding ideas from anywhere.

These are more than just words for us. They guide our daily work - the way we collaborate, the innovative ideas we support, the problems we confront and the way we work with others to solve them.

Without these values, there would be less meaning to our work and less potential to realize the change the foundation is trying to achieve.

Over the coming week and months, we plan to share stories that illustrate how our values inform the foundation’s work. They are stories that inspire us and give us hope during this difficult time. These stories help us to believe there are better days ahead.

If we stay true to who we are and follow our values, anything is possible.