Actor Laz Alonso served as a judge for The Home Depot’s 2014 “Retool Your School” campus improvement program. He recently spoke with rolling out to discuss the importance of this program.
Why is the Retool Your School initiative important to you?
As an alumnus of an HBCU, Howard University, I recognize it gives schools the opportunity to really engage and spawn excitement both on campus and with alumni, and it beautifies our campuses, which obviously from the standpoints of morale, health and safety and ADA compliance, our schools really need this help. Retool Your School gets everybody involved in identifying what we need to address.
Why is this program important to historically black colleges and universities?
HBCUs are already strapped for cash. Having a company come in and fix what may fall to a tier three project because they have a more pressing issue, like keeping their students in classrooms in spite of conditions, it’s good to have a program to offset some of those costs. It’s something that is extremely necessary.
What does an ideal submission contain?
I just love seeing proposals with SKU numbers that come in with detail – not only labor hours but days of completion. I love the details because they not only show they put thought into it, but they actually went to Home Depot and found what exact products they need. There were schools that had the exact brand of LED lighting, SKU numbers and how many they would need of each. They went above and beyond what it takes to do a detailed proposal.
What would you say to the HBCUs that have not registered in the “Retool Your School” program?
I would say that there isn’t an HBCU out there that doesn’t need some type of campus renovation. To walk away from an opportunity to get money for your school and to create a more aesthetically pleasing environment to attend classes is a great opportunity. I would say every school that has an opportunity to compete for these grants should go for it. Give it your 100 percent best effort.
Retool Your School is a great opportunity. As an alumnus, I would have never made it through Howard if it weren’t for grants and financial aid and we haven’t gone beyond that.
