ATLANTA, Aug. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As Hurricane
Laura marches toward the Gulf Coast, The Home Depot®
will activate its Hurricane Command Center to support communities
preparing for the storm.
This year, the Hurricane Command Center will be virtual to
prioritize safety and social distancing. More than 250 associates
from the company's merchandising, operations and supply chain teams
are working around the clock to move truckloads of products to
stores in Texas and Louisiana. So far more than 230 trucks have
reached the area with products like generators, water, tarps,
batteries and flashlights.
There are more than 50 Home Depot stores in the areas that could
see impacts from Hurricane Laura. Stores will remain open as long
as it's safe to do so.
"Our associates are vital to helping our communities brace for
this approaching storm and we're extremely grateful for their hard
work," said Hector Padilla,
president of the Southern Division of The Home Depot. "We'll
continue to hope for minimal impact from this storm as we
prioritize the safety of our associates and customers in this
active hurricane season."
The Home Depot Foundation is working with national nonprofit
partners including Team Rubicon, Convoy of Hope, Operation
Blessing, All Hands and Hearts and ToolBank Disaster
Service.
The Home Depot Foundation works with its nonprofit partners
ahead of disaster season to pre-fortify warehouses with emergency
supplies so they're able to activate in impacted communities
quickly. Operation Blessing has sent emergency water and storm
clean-up supplies and will deploy more after the hurricane
weakens.
"Our thoughts are with the communities that may be impacted
by this storm," said Shannon Gerber, executive director of The
Home Depot Foundation. "We're working closely with our nonprofit
partners to identify critical needs so we can provide immediate
support. In addition to financial support, our Team Depot associate
volunteers will work alongside our disaster relief partners to
assist the people and areas impacted."
The Homer Fund, Home Depot's employee assistance program, is
also ready to process grants for associates affected by the storm.
In 2019, The Homer Fund gave more than $16
million to associates, including nearly $1 million to assist families affected by natural
disasters.
About The Home Depot
The Home Depot is the world's
largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,293 retail
stores in all 50 states, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico,
U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. In fiscal 2019, The Home Depot had
sales of $110.2 billion and earnings
of $11.2 billion. The Company employs
more than 400,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on
the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow
Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index.
About The Home Depot Foundation
The Home Depot
Foundation works to improve the homes and lives of U.S.
veterans, train skilled tradespeople to fill the labor gap and
support communities impacted by natural disasters. Since 2011, the
Foundation has invested more than $350
million in veteran causes and improved more
than 47,000 veteran homes and facilities
in 4,500 cities. The Foundation has pledged to invest
half of a billion dollars in veteran causes by 2025. To learn
more about The Home Depot Foundation
visit HomeDepotFoundation.org and follow us
on Twitter @HomeDepotFound and
on Facebook + Instagram @HomeDepotFoundation.
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SOURCE The Home Depot