During the Home Depot Retool Your School Awards Celebration held last week at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, Alcorn State University was announced as the No. 3 awardee in Cluster 2. Alcorn won an $80,000 grant from Home Depot.
Hosted by actor, author and HBCU alumnae Rashan Ali, with remarks from Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, The Home Depot chair, president and CEO Ted Decker and CMO Molly Battin, the event highlighted the 15-year legacy of the Retool Your School program and awarded Legacy Honorees who supported the program.
“I am proud of the work done by our Divisions of Student Affairs and Marketing and Communication to bring funding to Alcorn to improve our Student Union,” said Dr. Tracy M. Cook, president. “From the writing of the grant proposal to the social media push to secure third place and $80,000, it shows the power of teamwork and what’s possible when we work together. I would also like to thank our students, faculty, staff, and alumni for their votes to make this opportunity possible.”
Since its inception in 2009, The Home Depot Retool Your School Program has invested more than $12 million in financial support, providing HBCUs with needs-based grants for campus renovations.
Jordan Buck, SGA president and LLJuna Weir, interim assistant vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, attended the award celebration in Atlanta.
“It was an honor to represent my school with SGA President Jordan Buck,” said LLJuna Weir, interim assistant vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students! “We surprisingly placed third, and winning the early bird award was icing on the cake. My mom always told us that “Early bird gets the worm.” Thanks for voting; we’ll continue to strive for first place next year! The work is just beginning; Home Depot only provides the materials; we’ll need volunteers!”
The Home Depot grant will help to revitalize the lounge area in the Student Union and the SGA office.
“The Home Depot has a proud legacy of supporting and uplifting Historically Black Colleges and Universities. We’ve reached more than 82 universities over the last 15 years with many multi-year relationships with the same schools,” said Molly Battin, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of The Home Depot. “Our Retool Your School grants play a crucial role in ensuring that prestigious universities can continue supporting students and their communities through critical campus improvements and innovation lounges that foster creativity and collaboration. These grants go beyond just improving physical spaces: they foster positive outcomes for students and communities across the U.S.”
Sixty-seven schools applied for grants, with participating HBCUs separated into three clusters based on student population. More than 7 million votes were cast online by students, staff and supporters – ultimately deciding the top 10 schools per cluster to receive grants ranging from $40,000 to $150,000 for campus improvements.
