ATLANTA (Sept. 30, 2022) – The Home Depot Foundation is committing up to $1 million to support immediate disaster relief and long-term recovery efforts in communities impacted by Hurricane Ian. This new disaster response grant takes the Foundation’s 2022 disaster commitment to more than $5.5 million.
Alongside nonprofit partners and Team Depot, The Home Depot’s associate volunteer force, the Foundation is providing immediate assistance to communities in need by distributing water and relief supplies, delivering meals, providing shelter and removing debris in the impacted areas as soon as the storm clears.
The Foundation is also shipping more than 1,800 disaster relief kits to Florida to be distributed by Convoy of Hope and other nonprofit partners. The kits, which include garbage bags, paper towels, cleaners, hand sanitizer, scour pads, gloves and N95 masks, will be distributed to people in need and those cleaning up after the storm.
“Our thoughts are with the communities devastated by this catastrophic storm,” said Shannon Gerber, executive director of The Home Depot Foundation. “During this difficult time, we stand ready to assist all those who are dealing with the damage left behind. With the help of our nonprofit partners, we will be there to provide resources, relief and support not only in the days to come, but throughout the recovery process.”
Home Depot’s Hurricane Command Center has been working around the clock to move more than 600 truckloads of emergency product to stores in the path of the storm, including generators, gas cans, extension cords, batteries, tarps, lanterns, plywood, dry wall and water. Emergency products were moved to the front of the stores to make them easily accessible for customers.
With more than 100 Home Depot stores forced to close as Hurricane Ian made landfall, technology teams were moved into position outside of the strike zone to help them reopen for customers as quickly as possible. Associates and leaders from other parts of the state are stepping in to help at those stores to allow associates who live in the impacted areas to focus on their homes and families.
The Homer Fund, Home Depot’s employee assistance fund, is providing immediate financial support to impacted associates in need of safe housing, food and clothing while displaced. To date, The Homer Fund has granted more than $1.1 million to support associates impacted by natural disasters in 2022.
