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ATLANTA, Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — In response to the recent winter storms devastating the nation, The Home Depot Foundation announced today that it is committing up to $500,000 to aid with immediate relief efforts and short- and long-term recovery for communities impacted by historic winter storms, Uri and Viola. This incremental commitment is in addition to the Foundation’s annual grants of $3.6 million to disaster relief national nonprofit partners, bringing the current total commitment for 2021 to $4.1 million.

Although the extent of the recovery need is still being determined, this commitment will bolster immediate efforts, including distribution of water and kits containing additional critical supplies. Short-term recovery, including mold remediation and emergency home repairs, will take place as damage is assessed and conditions become secure.

In partnership with experienced national nonprofit organizations, including Convoy of Hope, Operation Blessing, American Red Cross and Semper Fi & America’s Fund, the Foundation has been safely deploying essential supplies to the areas stricken with power outages, water shortages, freezing temperatures and plumbing damage. The Home Depot Foundation works with these and other national and local nonprofit partners on an ongoing basis to proactively position emergency supplies and promote timely distribution to communities in need.

The Foundation has long-established connections with local nonprofits in Texas, and its associate volunteer force, Team Depot, has been partnering with Meals on Wheels Central Texas, Rebuilding Together Houston and the City of Dallas to assess damage and need. For example, last week, the Foundation partnered with the City of Dallas to provide seniors and families with much-needed generators, products, and cleaning supplies.

«The Home Depot supplies generously donated to the City of Dallas will support our most vulnerable populations, including seniors and families, during the 2021 winter weather conditions,» said Carrie Rogers, director, Dallas Mayor and City Council Office.

«Our hearts and prayers go out to our associates and the communities suffering from the effects of these catastrophic winter storms,» expresses Shannon Gerber, executive director of The Home Depot Foundation. «We’re working with heightened intentionality to mobilize critical supplies and provide emergency repairs, once safe to proceed.»

The company engaged its Emergency Response Team to respond to the immediate needs of its stores, associates and communities, flowing supplies into the impacted areas throughout the crisis. The Home Depot’s merchandising and supply chain teams are working around the clock to replenish in-demand items like plumbing materials, wet/dry vacuums, generators, and cleaning supplies. 

In addition to numerous stores in the impacted areas, The Home Depot operates several technology centers in Texas, including one in Dallas and two in Austin, where cross-functional teams of engineers worked throughout the storms to maintain networks, platforms and applications supporting stores and other business operations.

The Home Depot’s employee assistance program, The Homer Fund, processed more than 1,300 grants for associates affected by the storms and has already provided more than $500,000 in emergency support.

In 2020, The Home Depot Foundation committed more than $4 million to natural disaster relief efforts. 

About The Home Depot Foundation
The Home Depot Foundation works to improve the homes and lives of U.S. veterans, train skilled tradespeople to fill the labor gap and support communities impacted by natural disasters. To date, the Foundation has invested more than $350 million in support of veterans in need and improved more than 48,000 veteran homes and facilities in more than 4,500 cities. The Foundation has pledged to invest half of a billion dollars in veteran causes by 2025. 

To learn more about The Home Depot Foundation, visit HomeDepotFoundation.org and follow us on Twitter @HomeDepotFound and on Facebook + Instagram @HomeDepotFoundation.

About The Home Depot 
The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer. At the end of fiscal 2020, the Company operated a total of 2,296 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. In fiscal 2020, The Home Depot had sales of $132.1 billion and earnings of $12.9 billion. The company employs approximately 500,000 associates. The Home Depot’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

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SOURCE The Home Depot Foundation

ATLANTA, Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE: GPK), a leading provider of sustainable paper-based packaging solutions to food, beverage, foodservice, and other consumer products companies, announced today that Stephen R. Scherger, Executive Vice President and CFO, will present at the Bank of America 2021 Global Agriculture and Materials Conference. The presentation, in the form of a fireside chat, will take place on Wednesday, March 3 at 8:00am ET. The discussion will be available live and in replay via webcast and can be accessed from the Investors section of the Graphic Packaging website at www.graphicpkg.com.

About Graphic Packaging Holding Company

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE: GPK), headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is committed to providing consumer packaging that makes a world of difference. The Company is a leading provider of sustainable paper-based packaging solutions for a wide variety of products to food, beverage, foodservice, and other consumer products companies. The Company operates on a global basis, is one of the largest producers of folding cartons and paper-based foodservice products in the United States, and holds leading market positions in coated recycled paperboard, coated unbleached kraft paperboard and solid bleached sulfate paperboard. The Company’s customers include many of the world’s most widely-recognized companies and brands. Additional information about Graphic Packaging, its business and its products is available on the Company’s web site at www.graphicpkg.com.

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SOURCE Graphic Packaging Holding Company

ATLANTA, Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — In response to the recent winter storms devastating the nation, The Home Depot Foundation announced today that it is committing up to $500,000 to aid with immediate relief efforts and short- and long-term recovery for communities impacted by historic winter storms, Uri and Viola. This incremental commitment is in addition to the Foundation’s annual grants of $3.6 million to disaster relief national nonprofit partners, bringing the current total commitment for 2021 to $4.1 million.

Although the extent of the recovery need is still being determined, this commitment will bolster immediate efforts, including distribution of water and kits containing additional critical supplies. Short-term recovery, including mold remediation and emergency home repairs, will take place as damage is assessed and conditions become secure.

In partnership with experienced national nonprofit organizations, including Convoy of Hope, Operation Blessing, American Red Cross and Semper Fi & America’s Fund, the Foundation has been safely deploying essential supplies to the areas stricken with power outages, water shortages, freezing temperatures and plumbing damage. The Home Depot Foundation works with these and other national and local nonprofit partners on an ongoing basis to proactively position emergency supplies and promote timely distribution to communities in need.

The Foundation has long-established connections with local nonprofits in Texas, and its associate volunteer force, Team Depot, has been partnering with Meals on Wheels Central Texas, Rebuilding Together Houston and the City of Dallas to assess damage and need. For example, last week, the Foundation partnered with the City of Dallas to provide seniors and families with much-needed generators, products, and cleaning supplies.

«The Home Depot supplies generously donated to the City of Dallas will support our most vulnerable populations, including seniors and families, during the 2021 winter weather conditions,» said Carrie Rogers, director, Dallas Mayor and City Council Office.

«Our hearts and prayers go out to our associates and the communities suffering from the effects of these catastrophic winter storms,» expresses Shannon Gerber, executive director of The Home Depot Foundation. «We’re working with heightened intentionality to mobilize critical supplies and provide emergency repairs, once safe to proceed.»

The company engaged its Emergency Response Team to respond to the immediate needs of its stores, associates and communities, flowing supplies into the impacted areas throughout the crisis. The Home Depot’s merchandising and supply chain teams are working around the clock to replenish in-demand items like plumbing materials, wet/dry vacuums, generators, and cleaning supplies. 

In addition to numerous stores in the impacted areas, The Home Depot operates several technology centers in Texas, including one in Dallas and two in Austin, where cross-functional teams of engineers worked throughout the storms to maintain networks, platforms and applications supporting stores and other business operations.

The Home Depot’s employee assistance program, The Homer Fund, processed more than 1,300 grants for associates affected by the storms and has already provided more than $500,000 in emergency support.

In 2020, The Home Depot Foundation committed more than $4 million to natural disaster relief efforts. 

About The Home Depot Foundation
The Home Depot Foundation works to improve the homes and lives of U.S. veterans, train skilled tradespeople to fill the labor gap and support communities impacted by natural disasters. To date, the Foundation has invested more than $350 million in support of veterans in need and improved more than 48,000 veteran homes and facilities in more than 4,500 cities. The Foundation has pledged to invest half of a billion dollars in veteran causes by 2025. 

To learn more about The Home Depot Foundation, visit HomeDepotFoundation.org and follow us on Twitter @HomeDepotFound and on Facebook + Instagram @HomeDepotFoundation.

About The Home Depot 
The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer. At the end of fiscal 2020, the Company operated a total of 2,296 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. In fiscal 2020, The Home Depot had sales of $132.1 billion and earnings of $12.9 billion. The company employs approximately 500,000 associates. The Home Depot’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

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SOURCE The Home Depot Foundation

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md., Feb. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Board of Education approved a contract on Tuesday evening with Highland Electric Transportation, a provider of turnkey electric fleet solutions, to convert its school bus fleet to all-electric, starting with 326 school buses over the next four years. This project represents the largest single procurement of electric school buses in North America.

Montgomery County Public Schools operates more than 200 schools and serves over 160,000 students county-wide. The MCPS Department of Transportation is one of the largest in the country, with an over 1,400 school bus fleet.

«I figured that at some point electric bus prices would fall enough to make it affordable, but this deal makes it affordable now» said Todd Watkins, Transportation Director for MCPS. Todd was recently named Transportation Director of the year by Student Transportation News, 2020.

«We are honored to partner with Montgomery County on this innovative program. We believe this project is a great example of the power of public-private partnerships as we seek to electrify school bus fleets across the country,» said Duncan McIntyre, CEO of Highland.

Under the agreement, Highland and its project partners, including Thomas Built Buses, Proterra, and Annapolis-based American Bus, will electrify all five of MCPS’ bus depots, supplying the electric school buses and charging infrastructure along with services including managed charging. Highland will purchase buses manufactured in North Carolina by Thomas Built Buses, which will be supplied and serviced by American Bus. Both companies have been long-time trusted suppliers and partners for the MCPS Department of Transportation. Designed, engineered, and manufactured in the United States by Thomas Built Buses, the all-electric Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley school bus is powered by Proterra’s electric vehicle technology platform. The Jouley couples 226 kWh of total energy capacity with a Proterra Powered drivetrain to offer an industry-leading operating range of up to 135 miles on a single charge to meet the needs of school bus fleets.

The transition to electric school buses will deliver health and climate benefits for the community. Converting the school bus fleet will reduce carbon emissions by 25,000 tons per year while cutting diesel pollution harmful to human health, contributing to both Maryland and Montgomery County goals.

«Battery-electric technology is the future of student transportation, and this is just the beginning of a transition to zero-emissions school buses across the country,» said Caley Edgerly, president and CEO, Thomas Built Buses. «We applaud the Montgomery County Public School system for leading the way, and thank Highland Electric Transportation and Proterra for their partnership and collaboration.»

 «Battery-electric school buses offer a safe, reliable mode of transportation that reduces noise and air pollution, protecting public health and the environment. That’s why innovative communities like Montgomery County, Maryland are driving the transition to clean, zero-emission pupil transportation for our students and schools. Together with Thomas Built Buses and Highland Electric Transportation, Proterra is proud to deliver the benefits of our electric vehicle technology to Montgomery County and support their historic commitment to electric school buses,» said Gareth Joyce, President of Proterra Powered and Energy.

The project was awarded an $817,000 grant from Maryland Energy Association (MEA), which helps offset the purchase cost of vehicles that is critical at this early stage of mass deployment. This is the type of project that the MEA Clean Fuels Incentive Program was intended to support, collaboration between the public and private sector to build a scalable fleet electrification market in the state.

In addition, the electric buses will lend their batteries to deliver stored electricity to the local electricity markets, interconnected through Pepco, which helps the community integrate renewable energy and support grid resiliency. Highland takes on the obligation of internalizing these values, which shift the cost of ownership for the electrified fleets, helping to deliver budget neutrality to MCPS.

«This is the first step toward meeting President Biden’s pledge to electrify all 500,000 school buses across the nation over the next decade,» said Nat Kreamer, CEO of Advanced Energy Economy, a national business group. «These school buses do double duty, providing pollution-free transportation for schoolchildren and grid services that benefit all electric customers, while also being available as mobile backup for communities affected by power outages.»

About Highland Electric Transportation
Highland Electric Transportation provides turnkey solutions for school bus and other municipal and government fleet electrification. By bundling electric vehicles, charging equipment, financing, and services, Highland partners with customers to deliver scalable fleet electrification projects, within existing budgets. The company is based in Hamilton, MA www.highlandet.com

About Proterra
Proterra is a leader in the design and manufacture of zero-emission electric transit vehicles and EV technology solutions for commercial applications. With industry-leading durability and energy efficiency based on rigorous U.S. independent testing, Proterra products are proudly designed, engineered and manufactured in America, with offices in Silicon Valley, South Carolina, and Los Angeles. For more information, visit: http://www.proterra.com and follow us on Twitter @Proterra_Inc.

About Thomas Built Buses
Founded in 1916, Thomas Built Buses is a leading manufacturer of school buses in North America. Since the first Thomas Built bus rolled off the assembly line, the company has been committed to delivering the smartest and most innovative buses in North America. Learn more at https://thomasbuiltbuses.com. Thomas Built Buses, Inc., headquartered in High Point, N.C., is a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America LLC, the largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America and a leading manufacturer of class 4-8 vehicles. Daimler Trucks North America produces and markets commercial vehicles under the Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses nameplates. Daimler Trucks North America is a Daimler company.

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SOURCE Proterra