ATLANTA, Jan. 25,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Home DepotĀ® will increase
its investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities
(HBCUs) to $4 million in 2023 by
launching an expanded range of community projects and career
resources for students in its Retool Your School program.
Half of The Home Depot's increased commitment will prepare HBCU
students to thrive in their future careers with new needs-based
programs including externships, scholarships, career workshops and
innovation lounges. The other $2
million will double the flagship Retool Your School Campus
Improvement Grant, which provides grants to HBCUs supporting campus
enhancements. In its 14-year history, the program has given more
than $5.2 million across 184
HBCUs.
The vote-based Retool Your School Campus Improvement Grant is
expected to support 30 campuses this year with grants ranging from
$40,000 to $150,000 per school. HBCU students, alumni and
advocates can vote for their favorite HBCUs online, on Twitter or
Instagram using the school's designated hashtag found at
retoolyourschool.com. Applications are currently open and close
February 10th.
"We're strengthening our commitment to HBCUs and their students,
from educational enrichment to career development opportunities
that will follow them long after graduation," said Arlette Guthrie, senior vice president of human
resources at The Home Depot. "As a proud HBCU graduate myself, I
value the education I received and have personally experienced the
diversity of thought and innovation that HBCU students bring to the
workforce."
As part of the expanded career-development offerings, The Home
Depot is partnering with the United Negro College Fund to award 60
$2,500 scholarships to students
currently enrolled at any HBCU. In addition, a new business
externship will give HBCU sophomores, juniors and seniors the
chance to work on real-world projects in Home Depot business groups
like home services, marketing and strategic business development.
At the end of the six-to-eight-week virtual program, they'll
present their final projects to Home Depot executives. The funding
will also support the creation of on-campus innovation lounges and
resume and interview workshops led by Home Depot career development
experts.
Retool Your School is a key component of The Home Depot's
diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy, and our commitment
to advancing education for all in the community. To drive
meaningful change, the company's DEI strategy focuses on three
areas: associate engagement, community engagement and supplier
diversity partnerships. For more information on The Home Depot's
Retool Your School program, including information on how to apply
for scholarships and other grants, visit
retoolyourschool.com.
About The Home Depot
The Home Depot is the
world's largest home improvement specialty retailer. At the end of
the third quarter of fiscal year 2022, the company operated a total
of 2,319 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The company employs approximately
500,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New
York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones
industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index. The Home
Depot is #17 on the 2022 Fortune 500.
About Retool Your School
The Home Depot's Retool
Your School grant program strives to give back to our nation's
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) what they have
so generously given to their communities: a strong foundation,
renewed purpose and distinctive character through campus uplift and
beautification funding. Established in 2009, Retool Your School has
invested more than $5.2 million to
support 184 campus improvement grants provided to 70 percent of the
nation's HBCUs. To learn more about Retool Your School, visit
RetoolYourSchool.com and follow us on Twitter @HomeDepotRetool,
Instagram @HomeDepotRetool and Facebook
@RetoolYourSchool.
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SOURCE The Home Depot