Home Depot handed the Vine City community a $250,000 check Wednesday afternoon to help it recover from damage caused by the tornado that touched down last Friday night.

About 100 Vine City homes were damaged by the tornado, 50 of which suffered severe damage, according to Greg Hawthorne, executive director of the Vine City Health and Housing Ministry.

Kelly Caffarelli, president of the Home Depot Foundation, who handed Hawthorne the check at Beulah Baptist Church, said volunteers had been working in the community since Saturday.

"Every house that had a hole in the roof now has a tarp on it," Caffarelli told the community leaders who had gathered for the press conference. But she added that the donation would go to making permanent improvements to the homes. "Those funds will be available to residents to make repairs to their residences."

More specifically, the money will go toward patching roofs, replacing windows and fixing other damage from the storm. Vine City, which lies just west of downtown and the Georgia Dome, was one of the hardest hit neighborhoods.

"When the neighborhood is able to come together, it really shows the human spirit that is here," Hawthorne said. "We tend to gel in times of crisis." (Vine City also experienced devastating floods in 2002).

The Home Depot grant also will assist Vine City residents who don't have homeowners insurance or those who need help meeting their deductibles.

In all, the Home Depot Foundation and the company's associates have been working on relief efforts since Saturday, providing a total of $300,000 in donations. For example, the Atlanta area stores delivered $10,000 in supplies to both Cabbagetown and Vine City on Saturday.

Home Depot gave $30,000 to support community partners working on the effort, including the American Red Cross, local neighborhood associations and Hands On Atlanta.

The Atlanta Tool Bank received a $5,000 grant from the foundation to help recoup costs after waiving its tool lending fees during the rebuilding efforts.

Home Depot, through its Team Depot initiative, has had dozens of its associates working in both Cabbagetown and Vine City to help clean up debris and contribute to rebuilding efforts.