By Ashley Benkarski
The Home Depot has announced it will contribute $1 million in grants to support campus improvements at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) through its 13th annual Retool Your School program, representatives said.
Locally, Fisk University and Meharry Medical College are officially in the running to receive one of 30 grants ranging from $20,000 to $75,000 per school.
Lane College, located in Jackson, TN, is also participating.
The top ten schools in each of three clusters will win an improvement grant.
Currently, Fisk is in the #2 position (146,639) for votes in its cluster behind Texas College. Lane College is holding steady in fourth (82,272). Meharry is in the 19th position with 1,275 votes as of Wednesday morning.
People can vote for their HBCU of choice every day.
Since 2009, The Home Depot has invested more than $4.2 million dollars in campus grants to update, upgrade, and uplift HBCU campuses, the company continued.
The grants have supported 87 percent of America’s HBCUs through more than 152 improvement projects, the company reported.
In the past, these projects ranged from creating outdoor fitness centers to receiving and installing new furniture in an on-campus library.
The company gave recent alumni a chance to show their love and appreciation for their alma maters with HBCU Love Letters.
Fisk University, Meharry Medical College, and Tennessee State University received $50,000 grants in 2019.
“Historically Black Colleges and Universities have taught and nurtured some of our community’s most visible and vocal figures,” Home Depot representatives said.
HBCU supporters can vote for their favorite schools through Twitter and Instagram using the school’s designated hashtag or at retoolyourschool.com.
Fisk University: #RYSFISK
Meharry Medical College: #RYSMEHARRY
Lane College: #RYSLANE
Voting is open now through March 27, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
