Home Depot expands disaster relief
The Home Depot Foundation reported it is expanding nationwide disaster preparedness, response and long-term recovery efforts through $4.4 million in grants to disaster response nonprofit partners.
The Foundation said its partners, Convoy of Hope and ToolBank USA, are working to open new warehouses near Sacramento to provide faster response times in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.
“As Convoy of Hope looks to serve more people across the globe in bigger and better ways, establishing a new west coast regional distribution center coupled with our partnership with The Home Depot Foundation will play a vital role in accomplishing that goal,” said Stacy Lamb, Convoy of Hope’s vice president of disaster services.
“We are excited about how both will position us to meet the needs of hurting people in the years to come,” said Lamb.
Record rainfall has brought deadly flooding to California this year, adding to a growing list of west coast climate concerns, said the Foundation.
[Read more: How big retailers are helping communities with recovery efforts.]
“Every day, across the country, people are living with the effects of a natural disaster. Our dedication to those people and their communities extends long past the initial response phase,” said Shannon Gerber, executive director of The Home Depot Foundation.
To continue to support communities in the west, World Central Kitchen has further built out its relief team to include more regionally based team members so they can ensure they reach crises around the world even quicker than before.
The funding, said the Foundation, also includes $1.2 million for long-term recovery efforts nationwide, with a focus on fortified and sustainable rebuilding practices.
The Foundation will be working with local Habitat for Humanity affiliates in several states to continue rebuilding efforts from Hurricanes Ida, Michael and Florence.
Additional grants to Team Rubicon will extend hurricane and tornado recovery operations in Texas, Alabama, Louisiana and Kentucky.
The investments take the Foundation’s 2023 disaster response financial commitment to more than $4.8 million, it said, and will help several partners bolster west coast operations.
“With the help of our nonprofit partners, we are helping communities rebuild stronger and more sustainably so they can withstand future storms,” said Gerber.
