COEUR d'ALENE - Nearly four dozen Home Depot employees from all over the Pacific Northwest helped renovate two homeless veterans shelters on East Sherman Tuesday.

Home Depot, which has donated more than $80 million to veteran housing projects over the past five years, teamed up with St. Vincent de Paul Salvage Bureau to upgrade the bathrooms and kitchens in the Star Haven and Sandman motels, two facilities that provide safe housing for otherwise homeless veterans in Coeur d'Alene.

"We also did some landscaping and built storage cabinets," said Shelly Brady, who organized the event for Home Depot's North Spokane store. "We also have flag poles and solar lighting for them, but the city has to make sure they are going up in the right place, so we won't be the ones installing those."

The local volunteer project is part of the company's fifth annual Celebration of Service campaign, a nationwide effort led by Team Depot, the Home Depot's associate-led volunteer force, to help veterans in need.

Between now and Veterans Day, Team Depot volunteers will complete projects for veterans in every community The Home Depot serves.

Brady, who has been a Home Depot volunteer for more than 10 years, said her district usually picks one major project a year, and the Coeur d'Alene project rose to the top this year.

Home Depot authorized $17,000 for the project. That money was spread between the two 11-room facilities.

Scott Parker, site manager for St, Vincent de Paul, said the renovations were way overdue.

"This is just amazing," he said Monday afternoon. "It was very much needed. These buildings are old and need a lot of work, but this definitely helps."

Parker said the residents also enjoyed helping the volunteers with some of the work on Monday.

"I don't know how we were selected," he said. "Maybe we were the luck of the draw."

Brady said she usually seeks out projects that meet Home Depot's criteria for funding. All projects must go through a nonprofit agency to be eligible.

While the veterans project is a big event, Team Depot does smaller volunteer jobs throughout the year, such as building wheelchair ramps and other small projects.

Brady said anyone who has a volunteer project that Home Depot may consider should contact their local Home Depot store manager. They can authorize funding and help provide labor.

She said the volunteers for the homeless veterans project came from stores as far away as Wenatchee and Walla Walla.

"No one is paid to do this, and it is all on their own free time," Brady said. "It amazes me that people are willing to drive so far to volunteer for these projects."