The Home Depot Transforms Commonwealth Veterans Residence for Bronx Veterans

Local Store Volunteers Partnered with Volunteers of America-Greater New York as Part of Company’s Fifth Annual Celebration of Service Campaign to Help Veterans Nationwide

On Friday, Oct. 16, more than 25 area Home Depot associates transformed Volunteers of America-Greater New York’s Commonwealth Veterans Residence, which provides safe, supportive housing to local veterans. This local volunteer project was part of the company’s fifth annual Celebration of Service campaign, a nationwide effort led by Team Depot, The Home Depot’s associate-led volunteer force, to help give back to veterans in need. Between now and Veterans Day, Team Depot volunteers will complete projects for veterans in every community The Home Depot serves.

Local volunteers transformed the home of 149 veterans. The facility offers permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless male and female veterans in the Bronx. The exterior of the facility was in need of repair to make it more accessible and welcoming for residents. The projects Team Depot completed included overhauling two patios in addition to interior upgrades. 

  • Volunteer projects throughout the day also included:
  • Refurbishing park benches
  • Resurfacing stone chess tables and power washing the cement patios
  • Landscaping including adding new shrubbery, trees and planters
  • Adding four new gas grills      
  • Interior painting, window replacement and installation of ceiling fans

In addition to Team Depot’s efforts, The Home Depot Foundation also will donate up to $1 million to veteran causes when customers share their support for veterans and volunteerism via social media throughout Celebration of Service. On Twitter and Instagram, people can join in by sharing a #ServiceSelfie. On Facebook, likes, comments and shares on Team Depot’s nonprofit spotlight posts each Monday will count towards the $1 million goal.

 

HOW TO GET INVOLVED:

Throughout the campaign Team Depot is inviting consumers to ‘celebrate service’ on social media. For each social media action, The Home Depot Foundation will donate $1, up to $1 million, between September 10 and Veterans Day to organizations that help senior veterans and veterans with service-connected disabilities, including: Gary Sinise Foundation, Housing Assistance Council, Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors, Meals on Wheels America, Operation Finally Home, Operation Homefront, Purple Heart Homes, Semper Fi Fund and the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Here is how to participate:

On Twitter and Instagram

People can celebrate service by sharing a photo of giving back in their own communities or honoring a service member on Twitter and Instagram, and use the hashtag #ServiceSelfie. For each #ServiceSelfie shared during Celebration of Service, The Home Depot Foundation will donate $1 toward the $1 million goal.

On Facebook

The Team Depot Facebook page will highlight one of these partners each Monday during Celebration of Service. Likes, comments and shares of these spotlight posts will also equal $1 toward the $1 million goal.

To learn more about the #SelfieService campaign, visit thd.co/selfie.

For more about Team Depot’s activities throughout Celebration of Service and #ServiceSelfie, visit homedepot.com/teamdepot, follow @teamdepot on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.

About Giving Back at The Home Depot

Since the first The Home Depot store opened in 1979, giving back has been a core value for the Company and a passion for its associates. Today, The Home Depot, in partnership with The Home Depot Foundation, focuses its philanthropic efforts on improving the homes and lives of U.S. military veterans and their families and aiding communities affected by natural disasters. Through Team Depot, the Company’s associate-led volunteer force, thousands of associates dedicate their time and talents to these efforts in the communities where they live and work.

Since 2011, The Home Depot Foundation has invested more than $105 million to provide safe housing to veterans, and along with the help of Team Depot volunteers, has transformed more than 22,000 homes for veterans. To learn more and see Team Depot in action, visit www.homedepot.com/teamdepot.

About Volunteers of America-Greater New York 

Volunteers of America has been at the forefront of social service for nearly 120 years, helping individuals and families in need overcome obstacles to living safe, healthy and productive lives. Across the country, 2 million people in 400 communities in 46 states feel the impact of Volunteers of America’s work every year. Locally, tens of thousands of men, women and children in need benefit from Volunteers of America’s life-changing, often lifesaving work including the homeless, families affected by domestic violence, children with special needs, adults living with HIV/AIDS, behavioral health or substance use issues, at-risk youth and the frail elderly. Volunteers of America-Greater New York is the largest provider of residential services for veterans in New York City, serving more than 1,000 veterans each year across its ever-expanding network of programs throughout the five boroughs of New York City, the Mid-Hudson region, Long Island and Northern New Jersey.