Rebuilding Hope & Homes |
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The Home Depot and its more than 300,000 associates are passionate about helping their
neighbors during times of need. When disaster strikes, The Home Depot is among
the first organizations on the scene to ensure its customers have the
supplies, resources and support they need to rebuild their homes and
communities.
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Preparedness
Last year’s destruction in the Gulf reinforced the importance of disaster
preparedness. The Home Depot’s dedication to providing customers with the
tools they need to minimize the loss of personal items during such devastating
events remains a staple in the company’s long-standing tradition of safety and
preparedness.
In an effort to protect its communities, The Home Depot partnered with the
American Red Cross on a three-year, $6.6 million initiative to educate 1
million people about disaster preparedness. This partnership will provide
grants to 40 Red Cross chapters across the country to support local
preparedness projects, as well as offer a series of national education
clinics at select The Home Depot stores.
To learn more about hurricane preparedness,
click here.
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Response & Recovery
In the first days following a disaster, The Home Depot mobilizes associates
from across the country to assist in strike-zone areas, ensuring that stores
reopen immediately and provide relief to both associates and customers
affected by the disaster. With advanced shipping systems and weather tracking
devices, The Home Depot is able to identify which communities will get hit the
hardest, and direct commodities from other stores to supply those in need. In
times of emergency, The Home Depot freezes prices on all natural disaster
commodities such as generators, flashlights, batteries and plywood.
In addition to helping its customers, The Home Depot also ensures that its
associates are protected and supported. The Homer Fund, an independent charity
founded in 1999, provides short-term, emergency financial assistance to The
Home Depot associates and their families who encounter hardship due to
catastrophic circumstances. In 2005, The Homer Fund helped nearly 4,200
associates get back on their feet by distributing $4 million in emergency
funds.
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Rebuilding Hope & Homes
The Home Depot takes an integrated approach to its disaster relief efforts
through ongoing support of local and national non-profit partners and the
mobilization of the Team Depot associate volunteers. In 2005, The Home Depot
partnered with organizations such as The Home Depot Foundation, American Red
Cross, Salvation Army, Hands On Network, United Way and other community
leaders to donate more than $11 million to the long-term recovery and
rebuilding of the Gulf region.
Through its associate led and managed volunteer force,
Team Depot, the company invested $1.7 million in volunteer activation and
management in the Gulf. As an example, in Pass Christian, Miss., The Home
Depot engaged more than 500 volunteers to build the community’s first
permanent structure completed after Katrina – a 6,000 square foot playground,
surrounded by dozens of newly planted trees and shrubs, picnic tables and
benches in War Memorial Park. In addition, The Home Depot contributed $1.1
million to fund the Hands On Gulf Coast Action Center and Community Tool Bank.
This has enabled the daily deployment of 150 volunteers to prepare homes for
rebuilding by securing home exteriors, gutting interiors and remediating mold.
View our case study on Pass
Christian, Mississippi.
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