Spotlight on Home Depot

Helping build back communities

Last August, as Hurricane Laura bore down on the Gulf Coast, The Home Depot activated its Hurricane Command Center to aid communities in the path of destruction. Working around the clock, teams of volunteers from the company’s merchandising, operations and supply chain units moved more than 230 truckloads of vital equipment and resources into the area, from bottled water and tarps to electric generators. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, The Home Depot joined forces with nonprofit partners like Team Rubicon and the American Red Cross to support community relief and begin long-term rebuilding efforts.

Building, improving, repairing—it’s an exercise that The Home Depot has gone through countless times since its founding in 1978. Every year brings its share of natural calamities, from wildfires in the west to tornadoes in the Great Plains to hurricanes and flooding in the south. When disaster strikes, The Home Depot tangibly acts on its stated values, “giving back” and “doing the right thing, ”rushing aid to stricken areas and providing support where it’s most needed. Many of the company’s 2,296 stores throughout North America have served as emergency command centers for first responders and relief agencies.

Over the past year, of course, COVID has added stress and complexity to everything from everyday store operations to disaster relief efforts. Early in the pandemic, the company voluntarily froze pricing nationwide across product categories in high demand due to the outbreak. It also instituted a “Stop-Sale” on all N95 masks, redirecting all shipments—and donating millions of dollars in personal protective equipment and other products—to hospitals, clinics and other healthcare centers.

The company’s philanthropic activities are conducted through The Home Depot Foundation, which provides a wide array of community impact grants, many of them allocated to housing modification and repair for vulnerable and underserved populations, with a special focus on veterans. Since 2011, the Foundation has invested nearly $350 million in veteran causes and improved more than 47,000 veteran homes and facilities in 4,500 cities. In addition, The Home Depot’s “Retool Your School” grant program has donated more than $3.1 million toward the completion of sustainable campus improvement projects at 87% of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

The Home Depot bills itself as “the world’s largest home improvement retailer.” At Carpenter Group, we recognize something even more consequential—a company that has built its brand by being true to its values—in every community where it does business.

 

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About Brand Acts of Kindness®

Brand Acts of Kindness® is a series from Carpenter Group that spotlights companies across industries that are living their brand values in addressing the unprecedented challenges facing the world today.

The series initially headlined companies assisting healthcare workers and first responders, as well as communities, businesses and families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We also highlight brands taking the lead in supporting social and racial justice, LGBTQ rights, sustainability and the environment. Their stories show how innovation, resolve and action, built on a solid value proposition, can both strengthen a brand and help create a better world.

About Carpenter Group

Carpenter Group is an independent, woman-owned strategic branding, messaging and marketing communications firm that has delivered results-driven solutions to financial, professional services and technology firms for 30+ years.

Our broad cross-discipline experience enables us to craft brand messaging and carry it through to the channels that most effectively connect with our clients’ target audience, from editorial content to advertising to event marketing and more.