The Home Depot Foundation Commits $1 Million to the Immediate Relief and Long-term Rebuilding Efforts in the Wake of Superstorm Sandy

ATLANTA, Nov. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Home Depot® Foundation, the philanthropic arm of The Home Depot®, today announced it will donate $1 million to the immediate relief, recovery and long-term rebuilding efforts in the Northeast in the wake of the widespread damage by Superstorm Sandy.  Donations are immediately being issued to the Red Cross, Team Rubicon, and Operation Homefront:

• American Red Cross - $250,000 for immediate disaster relief supplies and activities.  This donation is in addition to the Foundation's annual gift of $500,000 to the Red Cross' disaster giving program, bringing the company's total 2012 commitment to $750,000. As part of this effort, The Home Depot is today providing the Red Cross with the following requested items for cleanup activities in New York and New Jersey:
  • 5,000 metal/garden/stone/bow rakes
  • 5,000 flat/transfer shovels
  • 15,000 pairs of leather cowhide work gloves
• Team Rubicon - $100,000 to deploy special teams of U.S. military veterans to local communities in the Northeast.  Team Rubicon trains and mobilizes veterans who have unique skills and deploys them in times of crisis.  Teams are already on the ground in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
• Operation Homefront - $150,000 for Operation Homefront's Emergency Relief Fund that provides food, clothing and temporary shelter to service members and their dependents in in the affected areas.

The distribution of the remainder of the funds will be determined as events continue to unfold on the ground and damage assessments are made. 

"Our hearts go out to the communities, families and our own associates who are dealing with the effects of Superstorm Sandy," said Kelly Caffarelli, president, The Home Depot Foundation.  "We pledge to be there for the long haul as communities begin recovering and rebuilding. We will use the knowledge and expertise we have gained from responding to other large scale disasters to deploy our funds and volunteers with maximum impact.  As part of our focus to ensure that every veteran has a safe place to call home, we will search out opportunities to help veterans whose homes have been impacted by the storm."

In addition to financial donations, Team Depot, the company's associate-led volunteer force, is busy working with local authorities and nonprofit groups to assess damage and mobilize volunteer teams for cleanup activities.  For Home Depot associates affected by the storm and experiencing unexpected financial difficulties as a result, The Homer Fund, a nonprofit charity funded by the company's associates to provide emergency financial assistance to associates, has mobilized to help them and ensure their needs are met.

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About The Home Depot Foundation

In 2011, The Home Depot Foundation focused its financial and volunteer resources to help nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving the homes of economically disadvantaged veterans.  To date, the Foundation has committed $80 million to these efforts.  Through Team Depot, the company's associate-led volunteer program, thousands of Home Depot associates volunteer their time and talents to positively transform neighborhoods and perform basic repairs and modifications to homes and facilities serving veterans with critical housing needs.  Since its formation in 2002, The Home Depot Foundation has granted more than $300 million to nonprofit organizations improving homes and lives in local communities.

To learn more and see our associates in action, visit www.homedepotfoundation.org, follow us on Twitter @homedepotfdn, and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/homedepotfoundation.

SOURCE The Home Depot