Home Depot Foundation gives $500,000 grant to Joplin Recovery Fund

(From Home Depot Foundation)

The Home Depot Foundation today announced a $500,000 grant to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks’ Joplin Recovery Fund to support the long-term recovery efforts in Joplin. The grant was made in conjunction with the grand reopening of The Home Depot’s store in Joplin, which was destroyed along with much of the community by devastating tornados in May 2011.

“We are delighted to receive this essential funding from The Home Depot Foundation,” said Brian Fogle, President of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. “Their commitment to the Joplin community is reflected not only in this generous donation, but also in their disaster relief support of smaller area nonprofits and in the personal dedication of The Home Depot associates who have been volunteering their own time to give back to those who have lost so much.”

With this donation, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, with its Joplin-based affiliate, the Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri, has raised about $4.05 million for the Joplin Recovery Fund for grant making to non-profit agencies working on mid- to long-term relief efforts.

Today’s grant brings the total donated to nonprofits in Joplin by The Home Depot Foundation to almost $1 million. In addition, Team Depot, the company’s associate-led volunteer force, has donated countless volunteer hours to help rebuild the community, including rebuilding the home of an elderly family, cleaning up the local little league fields, and constructing new homes for 10 families in just 16 days. Learn more about The Home Depot Foundation’s commitment to Joplin and the nonprofit organizations supported by these grants.

“Immediately following the storm, we made a commitment to help the Joplin community get back on its feet both through financial and volunteer resources,” said Kelly Caffarelli, president of The Home Depot Foundation. “We are tremendously excited to announce this additional investment to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks that is doing great work on the ground in Joplin and leading the long-term community rebuilding efforts.”