In October, The Home Depot® Foundation worked with the Alliance for Community Trees to sponsor National NeighborWoods Month, a month long series of tree planting events by 24,000 volunteers in 231 cities across the country. As a result, more than 36,000 trees were planted in just one month. In addition to the NeighborWoods Month tree planting projects, volunteers also provided tree maintenance tips, training activities and educational seminars to improve urban communities.

Team Depot volunteers were a critical part of National Neighborwoods Month. They led and participated in many of the projects across the country:

• In Asheville, NC, 24 Home Depot associates volunteered their time to plant more than 100 oak, dogwood and fruit trees and sixty holly shrubs at the Dearview Apartments.


• In Albuquerque, NM, 30 Home Depot volunteers planted a total of 300 trees at 100 homes in the Sawmill neighborhood and several other affordable housing communities.


• In Pittsburgh, PA, 50 Home Depot volunteers planted 20 trees throughout the East Liberty development.

The Home Depot Foundation is committed to efforts that support environmental stewardship and provide proactive solutions to helping create healthy sustainable communities and affordable housing.

"Trees are an important component of responsible design to ensure that homes are affordable, energy efficient, safe and healthy," said Kelly Caffarelli, president of The Home Depot Foundation. "By partnering with ACT and local NeighborWoods organizations, The Foundation is able to further its goals of investing in the overall health and success of our communities."

Many American cities have shrinking tree canopies, because it is difficult and expensive to maintain older shade trees and plant new ones, however many mayors have recognized that urban forests are an integral part of a city's infrastructure just as roads, buildings and bridges. Trees reduce cooling bills in summer with shade trees, help reduce greenhouse gases and make low-income neighborhoods more inviting.

"This year's outstanding NeighborWoods Month celebration is a reflection of that growing movement for green cities. A dozen major cities have declared city-wide tree canopy goals, involving residents and the private sector to plant and care for trees," said Alice C. Ewen, executive director of the Alliance for Community Trees. "People everywhere are looking for simple, affordable ways to go green and improve their communities. Just by shading a home, you can cut summer energy use by a third, eliminating emissions that contribute to global warming. What's more, that same shade tree will clean the air, save you money, and enhance your home's curb appeal. Those are great benefits everyone can appreciate."

For additional information about the 2009 National NeighborWoods Month events, please visit: www.neighborwoodsmonth.org.

About The Home Depot Foundation
The Home Depot Foundation was created in 2002 to further the community building goals of The Home Depot. The Home Depot Foundation is dedicated to building affordable homes for working families that are healthy to live in and affordable to own. To make homes healthy and affordable, the Foundation encourages developers to incorporate responsible design and use durable and quality materials to ensure that homes are more energy and water efficient, have good indoor air quality, and provide a safe and healthy space to live. Since its formation, The Home Depot Foundation has granted $120 million to nonprofit organizations and supported the development of more than 65,000 affordable, healthy homes. For more information, visit www.homedepotfoundation.org.

About Alliance for Community Trees
The Alliance for Community Trees was incorporated in 1993 as a problem-solving center for leaders of community-based urban forestry groups. Its founders shared a vision of healthy, functioning urban ecosystems nurtured by a broad base of community stewards. Today, ACT is a growing network of more than 150 organizations engaged in tree planting, care and education. Its members are involved in grassroots community greening, public education, policymaking, job training, and other activities to support urban forest stewardship. Together, they have planted 14.9 million city trees by engaging more than 4.3 million volunteers. Information on ACT and its members can be found at www.actrees.org.

Home Depot Foundation

Home Depot Foundation

The Home Depot Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that was established in 2002 to further the community building goals of The Home Depot by providing additional resources to assist nonprofit organizations.

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