ATLANTA - The Home Depot(R), the world's largest home improvement retailer, and The Home Depot Foundation today announced a direct cash donation of $1.5 million to support the relief and rebuilding efforts of areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

The Home Depot will make a direct donation of $400,000 to emergency management organizations, including American Red Cross(R) and The Salvation Army, for immediate disaster relief and recovery. In addition, The Home Depot will make a direct donation of $600,000 to support long-term rebuilding efforts in the affected communities. This portion of the funding will go to a "Rebuilding Fund" established by the Corporation for National Community Service and Hands On Network. These organizations will re-grant funds to nonprofit organizations and manage volunteer-driven rebuilding projects for community facilities, such as schools, senior and community centers, and parks. The Home Depot will also encourage customers and associates to make financial contributions to the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army relief efforts through its Web site (www.homedepot.com).

The Home Depot Foundation will make a direct donation of $500,000 to nonprofit organizations that produce and rehabilitate affordable housing for low- to moderate-income homeowners to assist with the repair and rebuilding efforts. In addition, The Home Depot Foundation and The Home Depot will be working with its suppliers to donate additional materials, such as tarps, flashlights and bottled water, to emergency management organizations.

In the coming weeks and months, The Home Depot will transport and house thousands of associates to the Gulf states region to provide additional support to stores and communities affected by the hurricane. In addition, the company has identified six sites to stage temporary support centers to provide communities with additional reconstruction and disaster recovery materials.

"Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this tragic natural disaster," said Bob Nardelli, chairman, president & CEO of The Home Depot. "The Home Depot has an extensive history of providing support to our communities as they recover from natural disasters. Through these donations and future volunteer support from our associates, we will continue to play an integral role in our local communities and their rebuilding efforts during the upcoming months. As always, our associates shine their brightest when our communities face their darkest hours."

In addition to these efforts, The Home Depot will be donating 300,000 volunteer hours to communities across North America as part of the Corporate Month of Service in September. More than 90 stores near the affected areas are expected to focus their volunteer projects around the recovery, cleanup and rebuilding efforts in their local communities. As a result, associates will contribute approximately 10,000 volunteer hours to these projects. The Home Depot will support these efforts through an additional contribution of more than $200,000 in materials from the company.

Earlier this year, The Home Depot and American Red Cross announced the formation of a three-year, $6.6 million partnership designed to educate 1 million people on hurricane and disaster preparedness. Since June, The Home Depot has been hosting a series of preparedness clinics in hurricane-prone areas. As a part of its commitment to American Red Cross, The Home Depot has directed $100,000 toward supplies and materials allocated to Katrina hurricane relief and recovery. Individuals interested in supporting the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund can visit http://www.homedepot.com/redcross to make a donation.

Last year, The Home Depot mobilized the largest supply and volunteer effort in its history, as the company donated more than $4 million to the relief and rebuilding efforts of several organizations following the devastation caused by four hurricanes that affected the southeastern United States. More than 2,000 associates from outside the affected areas volunteered to relieve and assist their co-workers.

Founded in 1978, The Home Depot(R) is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer and the second largest retailer in the United States, with fiscal 2004 sales of $73.1 billion. The company employs approximately 325,000 associates and has 1,943 stores in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The company has announced plans for retail expansion into China. The Home Depot has been recognized by Fortune as the No. 1 Most Admired Specialty Retailer for 2005. Its 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. HDG

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We are the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer with stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, 10 Canadian provinces, and Mexico.

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