Business
The Home Depot Foundation Invests $5.5M in Disaster Preparedness and Community Resilience Ahead of Storm Season
The Home Depot Foundation Invests $5.5M in Disaster Preparedness and Community Resilience Ahead of Storm
About this update from Home Depot, Inc. (the)
[{"type":"text","content":"ATLANTA, May 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As hurricane season approaches, The Home Depot Foundation is directly supporting efforts to help communities better prepare for, withstand and recover from natural disasters by investing more than $5.5 million in grants to nonprofit partners. These grants, along with mitigation training for those partners supporting rebuilding efforts, will aid communities through every stage of the disaster response cycle.Beyond philanthropy, The Home Depot activates its Disaster Response Command Center for significant disasters, providing continuous, daily communication between teams, impacted stores and suppliers. The Command Center organizes more than 100 expert associates across the business in real-time ahead of a storm. This approach supports communities at every stage, from immediate relief to long-term recovery, by combining operational expertise with resilient building practices to create stronger, safer homes.Disaster Investment Highlights The $5.5 million grants will fund:Community resilience and fortification efforts by Habitat for Humanity International, including repairs and rehabilitations in Augusta, Georgia; Lafayette, Louisiana; and Planada, California, and the construction of new homes in California and Northwest Iowa.Team Rubicon's response efforts to train 8,000 volunteers and its long-term recovery work through the completion of 100 home repairs. The design and completion of Operation Blessing's mobile \"energy hub\" trailer where community members can access WiFi and charge their power tools and other devices.The establishment of Inspiritus' centrally located warehouse in South Georgia and specialized training for its volunteers to lead immediate response and long-term recovery efforts.The maintenance of a 450-unit housing complex for those who lost their homes during the 2023 Lahaina wildfire, in partnership with HomeAid Hawaii.The development of the \"Strong Homes\" program with the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), designed to train nonprofit construction managers in FORTIFIED Gold standards and resilient building practices.\"Preparedness is a year-round commitment to building stronger, disaster-ready neighborhoods,\" said Erin Izen, executive director of The Home Depot Foundation. \"With our research showing a \"recovery lag\" in areas rebuilding after a wildfire,...