Each year, The Home Depot Foundation works with local and national nonprofits to improve the homes and lives of U.S. veterans and those impacted by natural disasters.
As we celebrate the holiday season, we invite you to join us for 12 Days of Giving as we reflect and reminisce on 12 impactful projects from 2018.
- WHO: Army veteran James Carpenter
- OUR PARTNER: Top Dogg K9
- ABOUT TOP DOGG K9: Top Dogg K9 is on a mission to help disabled veteran families. They hope to reduce the number of families that are impacted by suicide due to mental illness each year by rescuing, training and pairing K9s with veterans.
- WHERE: The Home Depot Backyard – Atlanta
- THE PROJECT: Home Depot associates came together to celebrate Veterans Day and construct therapeutic dog beds for veteran service dogs.
- OUR WHY: After serving for six years in Afghanistan, James suffers from PTSD, depression, anxiety, night terrors, hearing loss and road rage. Top Dogg K9 paired James with a Weimaraner named Lily to help him live a happier and healthier life. Team Depot partnered with Top Dogg K9 to gradate Lily from the program and send James home with a therapeutic dog bed for Lily to rest in after a day of duty.
- WHO: Army veterans Louie and Gloria Castillo
- OUR PARTNER: Behr Paint
- WHERE: Santa Ana, California
- THE PROJECT: Behr Paint executives and Home Depot merchants came together to support a Team Depot project for a local veteran family.
- OUR WHY: After three years in their home with two young children and Gloria’s 80-year-old grandmother, the Castillo family was facing financial hardship. With the help of Team Depot, the family was given much needed home repairs and beautification to get them through this difficult time.
- WHO: The Posadas Family
- OUR PARTNER: Habitat for Humanity Greater Los Angeles
- ABOUT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: Habitat LA works with volunteers, families and individuals, corporations, congregations and donors to tackle LA’s critical housing issue. They are dedicated to making homeownership possible for low-income, hardworking families and individuals.
- WHERE: Compton, California
- THE PROJECT: Home Depot associates came together to build playhouses for local veteran families.
- OUR WHY: Father, husband and Purple Heart recipient Paul is medically retired after serving 12 years in the Army. He was injured in combat from a roadside bomb that fractured his spine and vertebras, causing long-term nerve damage. Knowing his family’s love for the outdoors, Team Depot worked with Habitat LA we to surprise his two-year-old son Elias with a custom playhouse covered in dinosaurs – raptors and t-rexes are his favorite after all.
- WHO: Formerly Homeless Veterans in Florida
- OUR PARTNERS: Volunteers of America of Florida & Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade
- ABOUT VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA OF FLORIDA: Nationally, Volunteers of America touches the lives of more than 2.5 million people each year in over 400 communities across 46 states and Puerto Rico. Volunteers of America of Florida contributes by providing health services, housing, training, education and employment to their most in need residents.
- ABOUT REBUILDING TOGETHER MIAMI-DADE: Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade repairs and modifies homes for Miami-Dade county’s most vulnerable homeowners. Their efforts preserve affordable home-ownership, fight gentrification, stabilize communities and ensure the safety and health of residents.
- WHERE: Miami
- THE PROJECT: Together with these partners, Team Depot volunteers assembled “Fresh Start” kits, picnic tables, benches and planters for veteran families across Florida.
- OUR WHY: The “Fresh Start” kits included necessities to empower veterans to change their lives and increase their chances at gaining and maintaining employment, housing and wellness. The picnic tables, benches and planters were also delivered to make their new house feel more like a home. To add a final personalized touch, each kit included a hand-written card from a Home Depot associate.
- WHO: Chicago Veterans
- OUR PARTNER: V.E.T. Service Dogs NFP
- ABOUT V.E.T. SERVICE DOGS NFP: V.E.T. Service Dogs NFP teaches veterans and service dogs to create an everlasting bond to help veterans cope with PTSD and other military traumas.
- WHERE: Chicago
- THE PROJECT: The Home Depot’s associate-led volunteer force worked with V.E.T. Service Dogs NFP to build therapeutic beds for their service dogs.
- OUR WHY: V.E.T. Service Dogs NFP believes no veteran should ever be forgotten or abandoned. Team Depot partnered with them to build custom therapeutic dog beds for veterans’ service dogs to provide necessary support after a day of duty.
- WHAT: Home Depot Backyard Veterans Day Celebration
- OUR PARTNERS: Habitat for Humanity, The Mission Continues, Atlanta Tool Bank, Furniture Bank Atlanta, Hero Box, Top Dogg K9 and Westside Future Fund
- WHERE: Atlanta
- THE PROJECT: The Home Depot Foundation came together with local partners to assemble kitchen tables for local families, build custom playhouses for children of veteran families, construct therapeutic dog beds for service dogs and frame walls for homes.
- OUR WHY: To close out the eighth annual Celebration of Service campaign and honor Veterans Day, The Home Depot Foundation brought local partners, associates and community members together to improve more veteran homes and lives through a day of celebration and service. This project also helped push the Foundation past their 100,000 hours of service goal.
- WHO: The Blanchards
- OUR PARTNER: HandsOn Greater Phoenix
- ABOUT OUR PARTNER: HandsOn Greater Phoenix is a nonprofit volunteer management organization that addresses community needs by coordinating volunteer opportunities for individuals from all walks of life. They partner with a wide range of community service organizations and government agencies to tackle issues like homelessness, hunger, education, animal welfare, environmental challenges and more.
- WHERE: Phoenix
- THE PROJECT: More than 110 Team Depot volunteers partnered with HandsOn Greater Phoenix to transform the home of Army veterans Mary and Dwight Blanchard.
- OUR WHY: Mary and Dwight have a combined total of 47 years of service in the Army. Team Depot came together to refresh their home’s paint, help with interior and exterior modifications, make weatherization enhancements and improve living conditions to meet city housing ordinances. Volunteers described them as humble, especially when they kept asking “why us?”
- WHO: Army Veteran Jamie
- OUR PARTNER: Top Dogg K9
- ABOUT TOP DOGG K9: Top Dogg K9 is on a mission to helped disabled veteran families. They hope to reduce the number of families that are impacted by suicide due to mental illness each year by rescuing, training and pairing K9s with veterans.
- WHERE: The Home Depot Backyard – Atlanta
- THE PROJECT: Home Depot associates came together to celebrate Veterans Day and construct therapeutic dog beds for veteran service dogs.
- OUR WHY: When Jamie came to Top Dogg K9 after serving in the U.S. Army, his voice had no sound, his eyes showed no reflection of light and his heart held no hope. Jamie was struggling to leave his home during the day because of the anxiety of crowds. His therapist suggested connecting Jamie with Top Dogg. After months of training with his service dog Ace, Jamie and Ace graduated from the program at The Home Depot Backyard Veterans Day Celebration. Team Depot volunteers also built Ace a custom therapeutic dog bed to rest on after a day of duty.
- WHO: The Jones Family
- OUR PARTNER: Habitat for Humanity Greater Los Angeles
- ABOUT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: Habitat LA works with volunteers, families and individuals, corporations, congregations and donors to tackle LA’s critical housing issue. They are dedicated to making homeownership possible for low-income, hardworking families and individuals.
- WHERE: Compton, California
- THE PROJECT: Home Depot associates came together to build playhouses for local veteran families
- OUR WHY: Chief Petty Officer, HMC Robert Jones from the U.S. Navy and his family love the outdoors. Associates came together to build his four kids an animal and Navy themed playhouse that they can enjoy for years to come.
- WHO: Arlette Belgrave
- WHERE: New Jersey
- THE PROJECT: Team Depot stepped in to install doors, paint walls and ceilings in rooms, finalize a kitchen makeover, remodel a laundry room, caulk all windows, install bathroom bars, outdoor patio furniture, a grill and patio swing and plant evergreen plants.
- OUR WHY: As a senior in high school, Arlette enlisted into the Army Reserves and served in Operation Desert Shield/Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom. After more than 30 years of service, Arlette retired and purchased her home. Team Depot jumped in to help make her home more livable for her and her two children.
- WHO: Nine schools in Puerto Rico
- OUR PARTNER: All Hands and Hearts
- ABOUT ALL HANDS AND HEARTS: All Hands and Hearts works to address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters. Through volunteer and community engagement, they help families recover faster and prepare communities for future events by rebuilding safe, resilient infrastructure.
- WHERE: Puerto Rico
- THE PROJECT: The Foundation brought disaster relief to Puerto Rico by renovating nine schools after Hurricane Maria.
- OUR WHY: From January to October 2018, more than 650 associates came together to help more than 2,000 impacted students. Volunteers removed debris, repaired damage to roofs and homes and rebuilt playgrounds.
- WHO: The McArthurs
- OUR PARTNER: Operation Blessing
- ABOUT OPERATION BLESSING: Operation Blessing provides strategic relief on an ongoing basis through core programs such as disaster relief, health and medical care, hunger relief, vulnerable children and orphan care, safe water and community development. Along with their supporters, Operation Blessing puts a special emphasis on not only providing physical relief to those in immediate need, but also equipping them with new knowledge to create sustainable solutions to combat poverty.
- WHERE: The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon
- THE PROJECT: The McArthurs were surprised by Jimmy Fallon live during The Tonight Show. Jimmy announced the Home Depot Foundation and Operation Blessing were partnering together to renovate and update their family home.
- OUR WHY: Divya and Terry McArthur lost their home twice – once during Hurricane Matthew and again during Hurricane Florence. Divya’s grandmother built the home in the 1970s and passed it down. “My grandmother left it to me. She put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this house. I’m emotionally tied to it,” Divya explained. Thanks to the Foundation’s partnership with Operation Blessing, the McArthur’s family home will be renovated with a new roof, paint, furnace and appliances, refurnishing and design inside and a backyard makeover.
