Posted on October 2, 2011

Home Depot Foundation, Habitat for Humanity Launch 'Repair Corps'

The Home Depot Foundation and Habitat for Humanity International have announced the launch of Repair Corps, an initiative to repair the homes of nearly one hundred U.S. military veterans and their families.

Launched with $1.5 million from the Home Depot Foundation, volunteer assistance from the company's associate-led volunteer group, and technical support from Habitat for Humanity, the program will award grants of up to $10,000 to participating Habitat affiliates to remodel and renovate the homes of military veterans. Thirty-six affiliates in twenty-one states have been selected to participate in an $800,000 pilot project, which will follow Habitat's traditional program model, in which families repay the zero-interest loan that covers the cost of the repairs — money that is then deposited into a revolving fund to assist other families in need.

The foundation also awarded a grant of $400,000 to Habitat for Humanity for Greater Los Angeles to provide critical home repairs to twenty-five veterans and their families through its Homes for Heroes program, and a grant of $300,000 to Houston Habitat for Humanity to repair and retrofit the homes of twenty veterans and their families through its Home Assistance Program for Veterans, which includes handicapped accessibility modifications.

"We are committed to ensuring that every veteran has a safe place to call home," said Home Depot Foundation president Kelly Caffarelli. "Habitat for Humanity has its finger on the pulse of the needs of homeowners in communities nationwide, and we know that through our joint Repair Corps program, we'll be able to identify and help veterans whose homes are in critical need of repair."