Building Healthy Communities

Last week, I posted some thoughts on the things that I would change about what’s going on around us - the things about the world that make me embarrassed and that we could change.  This week, I want to look at the other side and talk about the situations I see that make me proud of us all.

First, I want to talk about a few things close to home - our home at The Home Depot Foundation.  In 2007, we pledged to invest $400 million to build and rehab 100,000 homes and plant three million trees over ten years.  Just three years in, we’ve contributed $163 million, touched 64,000 families by helping them live in safe, healthy homes and planted 732,000 trees.  That’s a lot of numbers, but it’s also a lot of people and neighborhoods changed for the better and many, many great partners with whom we have worked.

Speaking of which, I am exceptionally proud, as well as humbled, to have worked with each of the nonprofit partners who made those numbers a reality in communities across the country.  Seven days a week, passionate professionals spend their days pouring out their energy working to help others.  They aren’t just thinking about making a difference (or writing about it), they are actually changing the way people are living their lives: building healthy homes where a policeman can afford to raise his family; teaching a mom how to program her thermostat to save money on her utilities so she buy new sneakers for her son; planting a garden where a family and neighbors can plant vegetables, watch with anticipation as the tomatoes turn red and enjoy what they have grown together, creating a healthier meal and a stronger community.

I’m proud of the thousands, actually the millions, of volunteers who give their time to do things for others without asking for anything in return.  They paint homes, plant trees, mentor kids, cook meals and visit veterans’ hospitals.  They understand that by giving of themselves, they will be happier and more fulfilled, and all of us will benefit.  And they often do this when they have no idea who will ultimately be helped by what they are doing.

I’m astounded that even as we are bombarded with bad economic news, Americans donated over $300 billion to charities in 2009.

I am proud that an average person laughs 15 times a day.  I am proud that usually if you trust people, they won’t let you down.  I’m amazed that there are scientists who are creating medicines to fight horrible diseases.  I’m awed that anyone has walked on the moon.  I’m proud that we can each do so many things - big and small - to make life a little easier, a little happier or a little healthier for someone else.  And I’m even more proud of us because we actually do so many of those things every day.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 11th, 2010 at 4:27 pm and is filed under Healthy, Affordable Housing, Philanthropy, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.