April 24, 2026 · McCall Vrydaghs
STAMFORD, Conn., April 24, 2026 – With $250,000 in funding from The Home Depot Foundation, Keep America Beautiful® is expanding its RETREET® program to help communities recover after hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and other catastrophic events. The funding will support the planting of more than 1,000 trees across four states: Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas.
“When disaster strikes, the initial focus is on rebuilding homes and infrastructure, while trees—which play a vital role in the health and well-being of our communities—are often overlooked,” said Kanika Greenlee, Senior Vice President of Affiliate Network for Keep America Beautiful. “With The Home Depot Foundation grant, Keep America Beautiful was able to restore natural beauty to neighborhoods affected by these extreme weather and climate events.”
Several communities participating in the RETREET program, supported by this grant, were hit during the nation’s third-costliest year for natural disasters (2022). According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, those events caused an estimated $182 billion in damages.
“Our tree canopy faced significant challenges from major weather events, including Hurricane Harvey and two powerful winter storms,” said Mayor Emil Garza of Cuero, Texas. “Through the RETREET program, we are replanting our urban forest and strengthening the Cuero community.”
RETREET is a post-disaster tree-planting program that has restored more than 8,000 trees for thousands of families recovering from natural disasters in communities across North America over the past decade.
The Home Depot Foundation is a longtime sponsor of the RETREET initiative and plays an active role in replanting trees across the U.S. The foundation has contributed more than $170,000 to restore 3,000 trees since 2015.
To learn more about RETREET, or to donate to help restore hope in communities devastated by natural disasters, click here.
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Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful strives to end littering, improve recycling, and beautify America’s communities. Join us on Facebook (opens in a new tab), Instagram (opens in a new tab), X (opens in a new tab), LinkedIn (opens in a new tab), and YouTube (opens in a new tab). Donate and take action at kab.org.
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