Tucson's arid climate coupled with a long standing drought has caused increased prices in water due to problems with delivery capabilities as well as a general lack of available resources. And if people aren't properly educated about water conservation the problems are only going to get worse. Knowing that education and long term planning are the only ways to truly solve a problem, Home Depot partnered with the Water - Use It Wisely program in 2003 to teach people that individuals can make a difference. By introducing strategies and products that work toward the goal of water conservation, Home Depot and Water - Use It Wisely were able to create a change not only in people's lifestyles but also in their value systems.

In order to facilitate such a massive change, all of Arizona's Home Depot locations hosted in-store, weekend workshops during September designed to empower people to take control. The workshops covered topics like irrigation, drought-resistant gardening, and repairs. Knowing that the future generation is key to the earth's well being, Home Depot focused on the "get them while their young" mindset and offered lots of kids activities to promote smart planning and future success. While Home Depot knows that big changes don't happen instantaneously, they're happy for the chance to get the ball rolling. Home Depot used this experience not only to educate people, but also to market their products (they offer lots of water conserving equipment), and to connect one on one with their customers. This hands on approach to problem solving is an innovative way to go beyond basic volunteer efforts by creating lasting relationships between customers, employees, and the Home Depot brand.

In addition to the good feelings created between Home Depot and their customers, this project also proved to be a great marketing campaign as Water-Use It Wisely print and TV ads featured the easily recognized Home Depot logo. This is a company that knows doing good work within communities means getting, and keeping, a growing customer base. In addition to their local outreach, Home Depot's involvement with the NBC show, Three Wishes, further illustrates their desire to squash the big box corporate stereotype. It's about time that big companies started making big differences in people's lives by creating cultural capitol in unexpected places.