The Home Depot

Founded in 1978, in Atlanta, Georgia, The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement retailer currently operating 1,437 stores, including 1, 296 Home Depot stores, 50 EXPO Design Centers and one Floor Store in the United States, 83 Home Depot stores in seven Canadian provinces, seven Home Depot stores in Puerto Rico and eight in Mexico. The Home Depot is credited as being the innovator of the home improvement industry, as well as offering a level of service unprecedented among warehouse professionals.

The Business of Social Responsibility. Being the world’s largest home improvement retailer is not, however, all that The Home Depot is about. The Home Depot believes that it has the responsibility to lead by example. In doing so, The Home Depot strives to bring their values to life by giving back to the communities that trust them to be there when they are most needed. In the February 7, 2001 Wall Street Journal, The Home Depot was identified as ranking #1 in Social Responsibility among American consumers according to an internet-based survey conducted by Harris Interactive, Inc. and the Reputation Institute. The Wall Street Journal went on to state that The Home Depot also ranks in the top five categories of Emotional Appeal, Products and Services, Workplace Environment and Corporate Reputation.

Commitment to Communities. The Home Depot’s first priority is to use its resources to encourage the development and rehabilitation of affordable housing, to support programs that meet the needs of at-risk youth and to support environmental programs. The Home Depot also supports disaster preparedness, response and rebuilding. In 2001, The Home Depot’s progressive corporate culture included a philanthropic budget of more than $25 million. The first year of the new millennium marked the 100-millionth dollar donated by The Home Depot to address community concerns. In addition, it was estimated that Home Depot associates volunteered more than six million hours on countless community projects in the year 1999 alone. The core value of giving back to its communities was visible in the winter of 2000 when The Home Depot implemented energy-saving measures during the nationwide response to energy demands and rising fuel costs. The governors of Washington and Oregon recognized The Home Depot as a positive role model after 80 stores in the Pacific Northwest voluntarily cut energy usage. At the same time, a $250,000 fund was created to support non-profit organizations throughout the West Coast that assist with energy needs of low-income families. On any given day on two continents, volunteers from The Home Depot can be seen doing social action projects in its four focus areas of affordable housing, at-risk youth, preserving and protecting the environment and disaster response.

Team Depot Volunteer Program. Team Depot, an organized volunteer force, was developed in 1992 to allow Home Depot associates to contribute to the communities where they work and live. In every location, Team Depot volunteers lead their peers in a number of projects each year. Often, Team Depot involvement supplements financial or in-kind contributions. For example, after a tornado ripped through Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Team Depot volunteers donated time and money from their own pockets to help disaster victims.

At-Risk Youth. The Home Depot is committed to helping young people stay focused on school and employment. For that reason, The Home Depot has partnered with YouthBuild, a nonprofit organization, to give youth the skills they will need to flourish. Team Depot volunteers teach young people the importance of working and solving problems together, and the YouthBuild students get the opportunity to help rehabilitate much-needed housing for homeless and low-income families. By sharing its do-it-yourself attitude, The Home Depot helps young people develop a sense of community and self-confidence.

The Home Depot is also very proud to work with KaBOOM to create safe places for children to play. Home Depot associates work with this organization and local community leaders to build safe and accessible playgrounds where children keep fit and healthy, and develop social skills. These playgrounds also create excellent spaces for parents and grandparents to spend time with their children, and for neighbors to build vital social networks within their communities.

Additionally, The Home Depot supports organizations that provide children with a safe place to engage in learning activities and acquire meaningful life skills. Attached is a partial list of the many youth organizations funded by The Home Depot.

Olympic Job Programs for Athletes. Since 1992, The Home Depot has employed 285 Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls through the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Olympic Job Opportunities Program (OJOP) and similar job programs in Canada and Puerto Rico. Through the programs, The Home Depot offers its athlete-associates full-time pay and benefits for a flexible 20-hour workweek that accommodates demanding training and competition schedules. To date, more than 130 Home Depot athlete-associates have competed in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, earning a total of 76 medals, including 33 gold, 25 silver and 18 bronze. “If it wasn’t for this job, I wouldn’t be skating,” said Olympic speedskater Derek Parra, a 3-year veteran of the job program and a medal hopeful for the U.S. “Home Depot is really supportive. This job has allowed me to focus on skating and not worry about working all night to pay the bills. A lot of employers don’t want to hire someone who may be gone several months of the year.”

Why Give Back? The Home Depot recognizes that the rewards of giving back go beyond the satisfaction of doing the right thing. In a world that offers almost unlimited choices for consumers, it is better to be in the “relationship” business than the “transaction” business.

Consider the values that are the foundation for each Home Depot project. Then factor in that associates in 1400-plus stores in North and South America are working on their own projects as well. Add community involvement, business leadership, sales tax revenue, jobs created and private philanthropy by individuals, and you can begin to see the positive power and impact of The Home Depot at work.

California State University, Dominguez Hills

August 2002