In honor of Veterans Day, more than 500 orange-clad Team Depot volunteers gathered Tuesday morning outside The Home Depot’s Atlanta Store Support Center, transforming lumber and bolts into symbols of gratitude. The large-scale service project, organized by The Home Depot Foundation in partnership with Atlanta Toys for Tots and HouseProud Atlanta, supported 75 local military and veteran families through handcrafted playhouses, wagons, toy benches, and outdoor sets designed to bring joy to children of those who served.
“Every veteran deserves a safe place to call home,” said Erin Izen, Executive Director of The Home Depot Foundation. “Today we’re not just taking care of veterans, we’re taking care of their families. We believe that supporting the whole family is critical to helping those who served focus on what matters most.”
Izen, a Marine Corps spouse, described the day as “our Super Bowl,” noting that tens of thousands of Home Depot associates nationwide have military ties. “It’s personal for us,” she said. “Serving those who have given so much is why we’re here, even in the cold.”
At the Atlanta build site, Lisa Flowers Jones, executive director of HouseProud Atlanta, helped coordinate logistics for the hundreds of volunteers. “We’re building 75 playhouses, 50 bikes, and tons of accessories for veteran families,” she said. “Our role is to make sure everything runs smoothly, from drills and screws to delivery. Many will go out today, and others will be distributed across metro Atlanta in the coming days.”
Flowers Jones said HouseProud, which began in 2012 as a spin-off from the Atlanta Community Tool Bank, serves about 400 seniors and veterans annually across Georgia and Alabama, helping them stay “warm, safe, and dry.”
For Kelly Wilson, an Atlanta Toys for Tots coordinator, the project’s emotional weight hit home. “A lot of families can’t even afford a bicycle for their kids, much less a playhouse,” she said. “This isn’t just a toy, it’s a wish come true.”
Volunteers assembled the playhouses and other outdoor items at Home Depot’s headquarters before delivering them to families across metro Atlanta, including Decatur and Stone Mountain.
The volunteer effort is a part of The Home Depot Foundation’s annual Celebration of Service campaign and coincided with the company’s announcement of $30 million in new grants for veteran housing nationwide. The investment expands access to safe, stable homes through partnerships with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels America, and the Gary Sinise Foundation.
Jenna Arca, a 14-year Home Depot associate and director of Workforce Development, said the experience reflects the company’s larger mission. “My job focuses on giving back through our Path to Pro program, training people in skilled trades,” said Arca, who is also a military spouse. “Doing something like this for veteran families is another way we can serve those who’ve sacrificed so much.”
Since 2011, The Home Depot Foundation has invested over $600 million in veteran causes, improving more than 65,000 homes and facilities for veterans nationwide. The Foundation has pledged to increase that investment to $750 million by 2030.
As Izen put it, “This work doesn’t stop after Veterans Day. We do it year-round because supporting veterans isn’t just a project, it’s a promise.”