Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful was awarded an $80,000 grant from The Home Depot Foundation for its Ohio Valley Region VA Hospital Community Beautification and Greening Project. 

In partnership with Keep Ohio Beautiful and Team Depot, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful will revitalize outdoor green spaces at two Veteran Affair Hospitals in the Ohio Valley Region including the Dayton VA Medical Center and the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System’s Pittsburgh H.J. Heinz Campus. 

Through this effort, gray and empty courtyards and dark cement patios will be transformed into beautiful gardens for our veterans as they work to both physically and emotionally heal from the wounds of war.

“These projects will provide veterans with increased access to new and improved gardens, but also an opportunity to be actively engaged in horticultural activities with the introduction of raised beds and planters and in the case of the Dayton project, improved access to the greenhouse,” explained Shannon Reiter, President of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

The project will directly benefit more than 1,000 veterans and their families in the Ohio Valley Region.

This effort is part of Celebration of Service, The Home Depot Foundation’s two-month initiative to improve homes and lives for U.S. military veterans. During Celebration of Service, The Home Depot associates will complete hundreds of service projects across the country between September 11 and Veteran’s Day to give back to those who have served our nation.

In 2011, The Home Depot Foundation committed $30 million over three years to nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving the homes of economically disadvantaged veterans. The Home Depot Foundation surpassed the pledge more than a year ahead of schedule.

As part of its second annual Celebration of Service campaign, the Foundation is now committing an additional $50 million to housing nonprofits over the next three years in an effort to ensure every veteran has a safe place to call home. 

Through Team Depot, the company's associate-led volunteer program, thousands of Home Depot associates volunteer their time and talents to positively transform neighborhoods and perform basic repairs and modifications to homes and to the facilities serving veterans with critical housing needs.

Since its formation in 2002, The Home Depot Foundation has granted more than $300 million to nonprofit organizations improving homes and lives in local communities.

To learn more and see Home Depot associates in action, visit the Home Depot Foundation website, follow them on Twitter@homedepotfdn, and on Facebook.

9/17/2012