Home Depot Helps Put Needy Canadians In Homes

SooNews Wire for SooNews.ca
Tuesday, July 15, 2008, 2:35PM

The Home Depot Customers Help Build 230 Bedrooms for Families in Need
Second annual in-store fundraising campaign supports affordable housing



July 15, 2008- The Home Depot today announced that over $230,000 will be donated to Habitat for Humanity Canada as a result of Canadians’ generosity during the second annual Buy a House, Build a Home Paper House fundraising campaign. The campaign ran in all The Home Depot stores across Canada from May 29 until June 29, giving Canadians the opportunity to purchase a paper house for $2 in support of affordable housing projects.



The funds raised during the Buy a House, Build a Home Campaign will be used to support home build projects for some of the more than 1.5 million Canadians who lack safe, decent, affordable housing. This year, the amount raised would be enough to purchase over 34 million nails to help build strong foundations, 4,600 doors that open new possibilities or 230 bedrooms where families can come together to rest.



“The Buy a House, Build a Home Campaign gives Canadians the opportunity to help families in need realize their dream of home ownership,” said Annette Verschuren, President, The Home Depot Canada and Asia. “I want to thank our customers, vendors and employees for almost tripling the amount raised last year – the first year of the campaign.”



As part of the fundraising campaign, The Home Depot challenged communities to not only make a difference across Canada, but also in their own backyard. As the community to raise the most during the campaign, Carleton Place, ON will have a special $25,000 home build grant donated by The Home Depot to the National Capital Region (Ottawa) affiliate of Habitat for Humanity for a local project. The communities of Sydney, NS and Huntsville, ON raised the most after Carleton Place.



“Our partner, The Home Depot, continues to amaze us with their dedication to helping us provide solutions to the growing housing crisis in Canada” said David Hughes, President & CEO, Habitat for Humanity Canada. “The Paper Houses campaign is a great demonstration of how corporate leadership and innovation can enable all Canadians to get involved and make a meaningful contribution.”



The Buy a House, Build a Home Campaign is just one part of The Home Depot’s commitment to affordable housing. Since 1996, The Home Depot has been the largest supporter of Habitat for Humanity in Canada and currently donates over $3 million in funding and products and thousands of volunteer hours each year in support of affordable housing projects coast-to-coast. In 2008, The Home Depot will support more than 20 affordable housing projects across Canada, focusing on sustainability to help create energy-efficient homes that provide lasting benefits.


About The Home Depot Canada

Giving back to the community is a core value of The Home Depot and a passion for its employees. Through an extensive community program, The Home Depot brings together volunteerism, do-it-yourself expertise, product donations and monetary grants to help meet the critical needs of the communities where employees live and work.



Founded in 1978 in Atlanta, Georgia, The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer with 2,254 retail stores, including 166 across Canada, including one in Sault Ste. Marie. In fiscal 2007, The Home Depot had sales of $77.3 billion and earnings from continuing operations of $4.2 billion. The Company employs more than 300,000 people, including approximately 30,000 Canadians.



About Habitat for Humanity Canada

Habitat for Humanity Canada is a national charitable organization whose mission is to mobilize volunteers and community partners in building affordable housing and promoting homeownership as a means to breaking the cycle of poverty. Habitat for Humanity Canada was founded in 1985, consists of over 35,000 volunteers and 72 affiliate organizations from coast to coast, and is a member of Habitat for Humanity International which spans 93 countries, has built over 225,000 homes, and is now building a new home every 21 minutes.



*Ranking of communities is based on the percentage of paper house sales per customer transactions.

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