Lowe’s teams Rally to Aid Rural Communities Devastated by Tropical Storm Debby

"It makes you realize how precious life is," says Rhonda Anderson, the Pro Sales Specialist at the Lowe's store in Wilson, North Carolina about an hour outside of Raleigh. Anderson was one of the first people on scene after a tornado tore through a rural stretch of the city, destroying several homes and part of a school and killing one man.

Anderson and some of her teammates went to deliver drinks and snacks to first responders when they stumbled upon the worst of the devastation. "This house was picked up and moved ten and a half feet and it was set back down behind the foundation," Anderson recalls. Winds of more than 140 miles per hour literally picked up the house and moved it. "It was devastating, just devastating," Anderson says.

But she and Store Manager Rachel Harvell Wilson and District Pro and Services Support Manager Scott Smith were determined to do what they could to help. Two homes across the way were still standing but the contents were scattered across the lawn. Family members and community volunteers were desperately trying to save anything they could and the team from Lowe's was honored they could offer buckets and bins and giant totes to help.

Smith says, "They were just trying to salvage whatever they could from inside the house, so we gave them everything we had in the truck and then coordinated with the people back at the store to get them more. It's a terrible feeling because you're talking to these people that lost their houses but at the same time it's an amazing feeling thinking about what we can do to help."

The morning started early for much of the Lowe's team. District Manager Ginger Hanson got a call around five o'clock in the morning, not long after the tornado hit and immediately went to work making sure her employees and their homes were ok.

"Once we found out all of our associates were ok, then we started to look at making sure people could safely make it to the store with all the flooding and road closures," Hanson recalls.

Next Hanson turned her efforts to helping the larger community.

"It's one of the best parts of this job - it's unfortunate and awful for the individuals and families but that's what were here for - we're considered an emergency hub that's why we stay open, and we act quickly to make sure we have product on hand that's going to be helpful. To see what these families went through, it's awful and all you want to do is help."

One of the badly damaged homes belongs to an 85-year-old woman who lived her entire adult life in that house. Volunteers managed to find her wedding china, untouched, and called the store manager asking for bubble wrap. Wilson says, "There are a lot of memories in that house and things that are irreplaceable. It's very rewarding to be able to help even in a small way."

Anderson agrees and says she's grateful to work for a company like Lowe's. "Every store manager I've ever had has backed me anytime we've had anything in the community where we could help. It feels great, it really makes you proud to have a company that will stand with your community when they need it."

Lowe's stores across Debby's path, from Florida to New York, donated products to support communities and first responders, including water, buckets, totes, clean up supplies and chainsaws. Stores in Elmira, NY and Mansfield, PA donated hundreds of disaster relief buckets to the Woodhull, NY Fire Department to be distributed to impacted areas in their community.

In addition, customers can support American Red Cross through Nov. 3 by rounding up their transaction to the nearest whole dollar at checkout in Lowe's stores. Donations support the organization's work to help communities in the wake of disasters like Debby. Learn more here.

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