The Home Depot Foundation, the philanthropic arm of The Home Depot, will donate $1 million to the recovery and rebuilding efforts in response to Hurricane Ike. The funding will be used for three programs:
-- $200,000 to the American Red Cross for immediate recovery aid for Houston and the communities along the Gulf coast of Texas.
-- $100,000 in clean-up materials for locally organized, community volunteer efforts, including the activation of Team Depot, the Company's associate volunteer program.
-- $700,000 to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) for rebuilding efforts in communities affected by Hurricane Ike.
Separately, The Homer Fund, a charity for The Home Depot associates in need of emergency financial assistance, has begun helping associates and their families affected by Hurricane Ike. Volunteers from the Company activated The Homer Fund call center more than two weeks ago to assist associates with their urgent needs of safe housing and other daily essentials during this hurricane season. To date, The Homer Fund has granted approximately $1.1 million to more than 1,350 associates affected by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
"The devastation from Hurricane Ike is widespread and we are moving quickly to help the residents affected by the storm," said Kelly Caffarelli, president of The Home Depot Foundation. "In addition to meeting the immediate needs of our associates and communities, we are also supporting the longer-term efforts by investing in organizations that will rebuild these communities in a healthy, sustainable way."
| 
