Home Depot’s Orange Heart beats for Jamaica
US retailer begins international relief effort after Hurricane Melissa
Published:Wednesday | November 26, 2025 | 12:06 AMJanet Silvera/Gleaner Writer -
WESTERN BUREAU:
When Hurricane Melissa ripped across Jamaica, tearing apart communities and leaving families desperate for relief, help came from a place many Jamaicans never expected, the world’s largest home-improvement retailer, Home Depot.
In a historic first, the Home Depot Foundation has committed US$1 million to Jamaica’s recovery, marking the company’s first-ever international disaster-response mission.
What moved the corporation to cross borders wasn’t corporate strategy. It was people, especially the thousands of Jamaicans and Caribbean nationals who proudly wear Home Depot’s orange apron across the United States.
“We live through hurricanes every year in South Florida. We know what a Category 5 storm does,” said Warren Cork, regional director of operations for South Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. “Home Depot doesn’t usually respond internationally, but this was different. When Jamaica was hit, we knew it was time to get involved.”
Cork, born in Mandeville, Manchester, said that decision activated a swift mobilisation of funding, supplies and manpower. This past weekend, a seven-member Home Depot volunteer team arrived on the island, five Jamaicans, a Trinidadian and a Cuban, representing both Team Depot and the Home Depot Foundation.
They are partnering with trusted humanitarian groups like Food for the Poor, Operation Blessing, Team Rubicon, Convoy of Hope and World Central Kitchen, blending emergency grants with hands-on assistance.
Working Shoulder-to-Shoulder
“We are giving all of the above, funding, materials, donations, and our own hands,” Cork said. “The orange shirts are here to help families start the recovery process.”
This is their second mission trip in two weeks, and Cork confirmed: “This won’t be the last.”
For the Jamaican volunteers, the assignment is deeply personal.
Damien Brown, store manager of Home Depot 209 in Miami Gardens, oversees more than 250 employees, many of whom are from the Caribbean. He attended St George’s College in Kingston.
“When we were asked to come, it was a no-brainer,” he said. “Taking care of our people and giving back… that’s who we are. And coming home to support my own country? That’s something I pride myself on.”
Another team member, Tayone Welsh, a store manager from East Fort Lauderdale, found the experience emotionally overwhelming. Welsh is originally from St Elizabeth, one of the parishes described as ‘Ground Zero’.
“To see the devastation and still see how positive the residents are… it touches you,” she said. “They welcome you with warmth even in hardship. It makes you want to give more. And knowing you’re from here, it’s a blessing.”
The lone Trinidadian on the team, Anand Singh, carries almost three decades of Home Depot experience, 28 years, and leads seven stores across South Florida, St Thomas and St Croix.
For him, the decision to come to Jamaica needed no thought.
Helping Jamaica, No Problem
“When they asked if I would go, I said ‘no problem.’ No hesitation,” he said. “We believe in giving back. We believe in taking care of our people. And when you look at our workforce, in South Florida and New York, so many of our associates are from Jamaica, Trinidad, and across the Caribbean. Coming here felt right. It felt like home.”
Singh has worked through hurricanes Maria, Irma, Ian, Helene, and the California wildfires. Disaster support is not new to him.
“It doesn’t matter where the storm strikes,” he said. “When a community is in need, we feel an obligation and the heart to go out and support.”
Cork said the devastation in Jamaica shook Home Depot stores all across the US.
“When you think about South Florida, New York Metro, these are highly Caribbean markets,” he said. “This didn’t only impact Jamaica. It impacted the Jamaican community working in our stores.”
And it’s that emotional connection that continues to drive the volunteers. Across Montego Bay and its surrounding communities, residents have repeatedly hugged them, thanked them, and asked them to return soon.
“You feel the gratitude,” Welsh said. “You feel the love.”
In a landscape of loss, Home Depot’s bright orange shirts have become symbols of compassion, Caribbean unity and corporate humanity.
Cork, reflecting on the mission, summed it up simply: “We’re here because it’s the right thing to do. And this is just the beginning.”