Voting for The Home Depot Foundation $25,000 gift card Facebook contest ends this Thusday at 9 a.m. and as of Tuesday morning The Veterans Guest House in Reno was still trailing.

Veterans Guest House was selected as a finalist for Aprons in Action, The Home Depot Foundation’s unique Facebook voting program, and now has the opportunity to win a $25,000 gift card from The Home Depot. Voting has been going on since February 1st on www.facebook.com/homedepotfoundation. The organization with the most votes will win the $25,000 prize and be in the running for the grand prize of $250,000 starting March 1. The runner-up organizations will receive $5,000 in The Home Depot gift cards.

During the Aprons in Action contest, which began in April 2011, 11 monthly winners are being selected. This March, Facebook fans will have the chance to help one of those 11 winners win the $250,000 grand prize. The organization that receives the second and third most votes will receive $150,000 and $100,000 from The Home Depot, respectively.
In the February round of the competition, Veterans Guest House is competing against three other nonprofit organizations from across the country, including Hands on Greater Phoenix, United Methodist Children’s Home of the North Georgia Conference, and Volunteers of America Michigan in Southfield, Mich.

The Veterans Guest House is a 501(c)(3) organization and relies totally on private donations for their funding. A one time HUD Community Block Grant was provided by the City of Reno to help purchase the new building. The Guest House provides United States Military service veterans and their families temporary overnight accommodations while receiving treatment at a medical facility in the Reno/Sparks area. The majority of guests receive treatment at the Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC). The VAMC covers 100,000 square miles that has over 120,000 veterans within it from Bishop to Auburn, Elko and Ely. The Veterans Guest House is located at 880 Locust Street in Reno, Nev.

“Being selected for the Aprons in Action program is an honor, and we are so thankful for the recognition,” said Noreen Leary, Chief Operating Officer of the Veterans Guest House. “If we actually win the $25,000 The Home Depot gift card, we will be able to complete work that we left unfinished in our new expansion home, such as the design and planting of a new yard and sprinkler system, installation of new windows and exterior painting to name a few things. We also hope to do significant maintenance projects on our original home that is seven years old. So we encourage everyone to go to Facebook and vote for us!”

Working together, Veterans Guest House and Team Depot associates have already provided and installed doors, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, toilets and a number of appliances for the Veterans Guest House newly remodeled expansion facility.

Across the country, The Home Depot Associates give back to their communities by volunteering their time and talents with local nonprofit organizations, like the Veterans Guest House. The Aprons in Action Program recognizes these successful partnerships and gives each of the featured nonprofits the opportunity to do additional work with Team Depot volunteers to better their communities.

“Aprons in Action is our $1 million effort to support the most active and engaged nonprofit organizations across the country,” said Kelly Caffarelli, president of The Home Depot Foundation. “Over the course of this program, we’ll distribute $1 million to 48 deserving organizations from across the nationwide Team Depot network, allowing them to continue their great work serving our communities.”

The final percentages of votes for each nonprofit will be posted on The Home Depot and The Home Depot Foundation’s Facebook pages on Feb. 24 at 6:00 a.m. PT.
For more information and to view the program rules, visit The Home Depot on Facebook or go to www.homedepotfoundation.org.