Home Depot’s Million Dollar HBCU Competition – UAPB in Top 10 Schools
By: Mary Hester-Clifton
UAPB Students Rally for Top Spot in Home Depot’s HBCU Competition
Pine Bluff, AR — Counting down to the March 27 deadline, student leaders from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) rally for a top spot in the annual Home Depot Retool Your School Grant Program competition. As a result, UAPB could win a campus improvement grant worth $20K-$75K. The program encourages and recognizes innovative campus improvement projects at accredited Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
On the Retool Your School website, UAPB is in Cluster 2 and is one of 30 HBCUs that could share in the $1 million prize. The grants are awarded based on each school’s number of online votes on the Retool Your School website, https://retoolyourschool.com/vote/ and by counting the use of the hashtag #RYSUAPB on Instagram and Twitter posts. While UAPB has accumulated more than 50,000 votes and has a place in the top 10 of Cluster 2, the top contenders–Coahoma Community College, Alcorn State University, Tuskegee College, Benedict College, respectively–are in the six digits, which fuels the momentum and excitement to continue. “Retool Your School is more than a program grant. It’s an opportunity to showcase the positive power and reach of our UAPB students,” according to George Cotton, Vice-Chancellor, Institutional Advancement.
Innovation and creativity are underway with campus voting parties, QR codes, promotional buttons, and student-inspired graphics. UAPB student leaders are partnering with faculty, staff, alumni, students, and the community to keep the momentum going. According to Braque Talley, Ph.D., Vice-Chancellor Enrollment Management & Student Success, “The Home Depot Retool Your School Campaign is a phenomenal way to pull the campus and its stakeholders together around key projects for the University. I am excited about this year’s participation as it has the opportunity to make our campus more attractive to students. Vote, Vote, Vote!”
Retool Your School voting opened on February 28 and ends on March 27 at 11:59 pm EST. UAPB started at number 14 on the Cluster 2 Leader Board and has moved up to 9th place. According to Leon Jones, SGA President, “RYSUAPB is a campaign that will help us create a better living experience for our first-year students. I am excited that students chose this year’s campaign project and that we have been active in the planning and execution.”
You can help UAPB win by voting daily at VOTE for UAPB in Cluster 2 and by using the hashtag #RYSUAPB on all your Twitter and Instagram posts. Every vote and hashtag counts. There is no limit to the number of times to vote or post for UAPB.
