Home Depot donates $1 million to tornado victims

The Home Depot Foundation, the philanthropic arm of The Home Depot, has announced it will donate $1 million to the immediate relief, recovery and long-term rebuilding efforts in Joplin, Mo.

Members of The Home Depot Foundation will be in Joplin this week to assess the long-term needs of the community and how best to partner with non-profit groups to deploy volunteers, dollars and products as Joplin rebuilds. In addition, the company will rebuild its store in Joplin, which was destroyed by a tornado on May 22. One store employee was killed. The total death count in Joplin is 118 so far.   

"The devastation in Joplin is indescribable, and we will be there to help this community get back on its feet," said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO of The Home Depot. "As we learned through our work in the Gulf after similar destruction from Katrina, the rebuilding will take years, and we are committed to Joplin for the long haul. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the residents of Joplin who are now struggling in the aftermath of this terrible storm."

Separately, The Homer Fund, a charity for The Home Depot associates in need of emergency financial assistance, has launched a companywide "Drive for Joplin" campaign to help associates and their families affected by Sunday's tornado. In addition to this special internal company campaign, The Homer Fund will supplement the grants to impacted associates to make sure their needs are met.