Rolling Out 
The Home Depot held a live awards event bestowing more than a quarter million dollars in grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, funding their campus renovation and beautification projects. It was the first-ever 2015 Retool Your School Winners Announcement Luncheon held at their headquarters in Vinings, Georgia. Additionally, the White House’s Dr. Ivory Toldson recognized The Home Depot for their commitment to supporting HBCUs.
“The very first HBCU [Cheyney University] opened its doors in 1837. Here we stand today in 2015 contributing to the sustaining history of Historically Black Colleges and Universities through the Retool Your School program,” says Melissa Gray Brown, manager of multicultural marketing for The Home Depot. “Isn’t that awesome? “
In 2009, The Home Depot created Retool Your School, which aligns the company’s vision for community service with one of the main pillars in the African American community, education. Giving back is one of the world’s largest home improvement retailer’s core values. Over the past six years, The Home Depot has engaged more than half of the 102 HBCUs and issued 74 grants totaling $1.2 million, helped schools meet ADA Compliance, allowed for energy efficiency upgrades, installed rainwater gardens, and upgrades to sporting facilities.
“Actioning feedback helps you to increase growth,” Brown adds. The Home Depot has “embraced change, culled to one comprehensive proposal” and made program enhancements to “consistently deliver a sustainable program that can grow year after year. One of the main pieces of feedback was to level the playing field so all participating HBCUs would have a viable opportunity to win one of these valuable grants.” read more
