Home Depot pledges $1 million for trade schools

ATLANTA — The Home Depot in mid-January announced $1 million in funding for its 2010 Pro Trade Scholarship Program. The Home Depot has more than tripled a $300,000 scholarship fund it first established in 2009 to support students attending professional building and construction trade schools.

This year’s program will not only support individual students, but also the schools they attend. Specifically, $1,000 scholarships will be available to 500 trade school students to help them offset the cost of tuition, books and tools for their chosen trade. The schools of the scholarship recipients will receive additional funds for classroom tools from The Home Depot Foundation through matching gifts of $1,000 for each scholarship awarded to one or more of their students.

“Professional contractors are important customers of The Home Depot, and their future is vital to the American dream of home ownership and economic growth,” said Chris Waits, vice president of The Home Depot Sales & Services. “Now, more than ever, we want to help our current and future pros build successful businesses.”

Scholarship applications will be accepted through April 30, 2010, online at www.homedepot.com/tradescholarship, and are also available in a downloadable Spanish language format. The scholarship program is open to all students nationwide who are currently enrolled in a building and construction trade school program at a vocational/technical school, college, or university. Winners will be selected based on a combination of academic performance, leadership and work experience.