Nine Historically Black Colleges and Universities Were Awarded a Total of $360,000 in Campus Improvement Grants

(Black PR Wire) Atlanta, GA, — On Monday, May 7, 2018 - The Home Depot’s Retool Your School Campus Improvement Grant Program held its 2018 Winners’ Ceremony to announce this year’s grant recipients. Nine HBCUs were awarded a total of $360,000 grants to make sustainable campus improvements across their campuses. To date, the program has awarded more than $2.1 million dollars in grants to HBCUs.

The nine winning schools were selected by a combination of cumulative online voting scores and grant proposals that were submitted by the schools and judged by a panel of distinguished judges, including Howard University alumnus, and film and television star Laz Alonso, Dr. Ivory Toldson, President and CEO, QEM (Quality Education for Minorities) Network; Gregory Moore, Esq.,Commissioner, Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC); Michael Tabb, Managing Partner, Red Rock Global and Melissa Brown, Senior Manager, Marketing, The Home Depot. 

The ceremony also welcomed the cast members from the syndicated hit sitcom “A Different World.”  Actors Kadeem Hardison, Jasmine Guy, Cree Summer and Darryl Bell reunited at The Home Depot Store Support Center in Atlanta, Georgia and participated in a panel discussion  discussing the importance of HBCU’s. The panel was moderated by AAFCA co-founder and President, Gil Robertson.

“We’re very excited that the Retool Your School Campus Improvement Grant Program continues to grow year over year.” says Melissa Brown, Senior Marketing Manager at The Home Depot. “The program has great momentum and allows us to make long-lasting contribution to our nation’s treasured Historically Black Colleges and Universities.”

Established in 2010, The Retool Your School Campus Improvement Grant Program strives to give back to our nation’s HBCUs what they have so generously given to their communities – a strong foundation, renewed purpose and distinctive character. The nine winning schools will begin their sustainable projects in the summer of 2018.

The 2018 Home Depot RETOOL YOUR SCHOOL Winners

AWARD            CLUSTER 1                           CLUSTER 2                              CLUSTER 3

 $50,000        Jackson State University      Tuskegee University                    Lane College

 $40,000        Southern University           University of Arkansas Pine Bluff     Talladega College

 $30,000        Fayetteville State University  Clafin University                          Livingstone College

Within each cluster, there are three winners vying for one $50,000 grant. Second and third place receive a $40,000 and $30,000 grant, respectively. Clusters were based on school population size:

• Cluster 1: Student enrollment of 4,000 or more
• Cluster 2: Student enrollment of 3,999–1,201
• Cluster 3 Student enrollment with 1,200 students or less

About The Home Depot®

The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,284 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. In fiscal 2017, The Home Depot had sales of $100.9 billion and earnings of $8.6 billion. The Company employs more than 400,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index.

For more information on The Home Depot Retool Your School Campus Improvement Grant Program, visit www.retoolyourschool.com.