There is great news coming to students who are looking for ways to fund their trade school education from the world’s largest home improvement retailer.  The Home Deport® has pledged $1million in funding for the 2010 Pro Trade Scholarship Program, tripling its scholarship fund since its inception in 2009.

What makes this program different than most is that the scholarship program will provide $1,000 scholarships to 500 trade school students to help with the offset cost of tuition, books, tools, matched by funding for schools to buy classroom tools.

“Professional contractors are important customers of The Home Depot, and their future is vital to the American dream of home ownership and economic growth,” said Chris Waits, vice president of The Home Depot Sales & Services. “Now, more than ever, we want to help our current and future pros build successful businesses.”

Scholarship entry information is as follows: The Scholarship is open to all students nationwide who are currently enrolled in a building and construction trade school program at a vocational/technical school, college or university.  Scholarship applications will be accepted through April 30, 2010 online at www.homedepot.com/tradescholarship, the form will also be available in a downloadable Spanish format. Winners will be selected based on a combination of academic performance, leadership and work experience.

The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,245 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and China. In fiscal 2008, The Home Depot had sales of $71.3 billion and earnings from continuing operations of $2.3 billion. The Company employs more than 300,000 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.

SOURCE The Home Depot