Home Depot awards grants to HBCUs
The Home Depot said it is investing another $1 million in grants to support improvements on the campuses of 30 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) through its 2022 Retool Your School program.
Alabama State University, one of the top performers this season, said Home Depot, earned the Campaign of the Year award for its innovative campaign, as well as second place in Cluster 1, winning a total of $95,000.
“Since its launch in 2009, The Home Depot’s Retool Your School Campus Improvement Grant Program has provided support to almost 70% of the nation’s HBCUs through more than 180 grants,” said Derek Bottoms, chief diversity officer for The Home Depot.
A hybrid Retool Your School Winners Ceremony was held on Tuesday, April 26, to celebrate the participating schools and the 2022 voting season.
The event was hosted by actor and HBCU alumni, Laz Alonso. In addition, actor, entertainment reporter, model and HBCU alumnus, Terrence J participated in a fireside chat, said Home Depot.
“Grants from The Home Depot have helped HBCUs make more than $5 million worth of improvements, including the creation of outdoor eco-classrooms, renovation of health facilities, revamping of residence halls, and more,” said Bottoms.
Participating HBCUs were separated into three clusters based on student population. The top ten schools with the most votes per cluster will receive grants ranging from $20,000 to $75,000, said the firm.
Additionally, the Campaign of the Year award of $45,000 was presented to the school whose campaign proved to be most original, innovative, and particularly effective for galvanizing its community to drive votes for the program.
Here are the 30 winning institutions of the 2022 Retool Your School program:
Campaign of the Year
- Alabama State University
Cluster 1
- Alabama A&M University
- Alabama State University
- Jackson State University
- Southern University and A&M College
- Albany State University
- Grambling State University
- Winston-Salem State University
- Fayetteville State University
- Prairie View A&M University
- Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Cluster 2
- Coahoma Community College
- Alcorn State University
- Tuskegee University
- Benedict College
- South Carolina State University
- Mississippi Valley State University
- University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
- Elizabeth City State University
- West Virginia State University
- Hampton University
Cluster 3
- Tougaloo College
- Texas College
- Fisk University
- Johnson C. Smith University
- Lane College
- Southwestern Christian College
- Wilberforce University
- Saint Augustine University
- Edward Waters University
- Rust College
“Each year, The Home Depot Retool Your School program rallies our community together to celebrate their Tougaloo College pride to support campus improvements that make a difference in our student’s lives,” said Dr. Carmen J. Walters, president of Tougaloo College, 2021 winner of the Campaign of the Year award and Cluster 3. “The program’s impact is immeasurable.”
Since 2009, through Retool Your School, The Home Depot has invested more than $5.25 million dollars to update, upgrade, and uplift HBCU campuses, the retailer said.
The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer. At the end of fiscal year 2021, the company operated a total of 2,317 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico.