Back to School Boost: Lowe’s Team Gives Elementary School a New Look

Joe Renew still remembers growing up in Charleston, SC and what it felt like when summer wrapped and it was time to head back to school.

"First day of school, man, coming to see your friends for the first time. You have all summer, you're having all that fun and then you come back first couple of days, you get to show off your new shoes, your new outfit, that kind of stuff. Be proud of what you have on. So, for the school to be able to show that sense of pride back to their students, it would be awesome for them."

Renew, Lowe's East Charlotte Store Manager, and his team did just that for the students and staff at nearby Albermarle Road Elementary School. Last Friday, Renew and dozens of store and store support center associates brought everything from shovels to flowers, mulch and more to help beautify the school grounds and fix up the front of the school as a part of Lowe's Hometowns Heroes community impact initiative.

"The school's a little older and they didn't have everything they needed to be ready for the first day of school and we thought it would be a great way for the students to come in, see the school in a new light from last season to this year," Renew explains.

The school's principal, Monica Palmer, is beyond grateful.

"This is all just in time for the kids to come back on Monday. It's going to look wonderful. I believe that the kids should have a beautiful space to walk into as well as a beautiful space inside the building, and we're going to be able to do that."

Palmer says she knows the parents will take note of the school's new look.

"A lot of our families are involved in landscaping businesses, house painting, all kinds of things. You can see them out here when they're waiting to pick their kids up, they take a look at our property. They probably will have a reaction. And my ultimate goal is to continue to build community."

In fact, she's planning a community cleanup day in the spring with the parents to continue the work that the Lowe's team started and says it means everything that the store wanted to be such an important part of their community.

"It means to me that it's bigger than a corporation. That schools are important, they're valued, and community means a lot to the organization. There are so many schools in Charlotte, so many schools all over the state of North Carolina, but it just says that there's something special about Lowe's because you actually pour back into the community around you."

Renew feels the same way, saying he's proud to work for a company that gives back to the community they serve.

"It is definitely huge. It's a great sense of pride for us to give back. I know that Lowe's did that and they have other places. It's not just this school but everything else. That means something to my associates. I feel that they can come to me and ask for some donations to give back to their local community. So it goes a long way."

This fall, Lowe's associates will be rolling up their sleeves to complete more than 1,700 Lowe's Hometowns Heroes projects nationwide just like the refresh at Albermarle Road Elementary, and 100 Lowe's Hometowns grant-funded projects. Visit Lowes.com/Hometowns and follow #LowesHometowns on social media to check out more Lowe's Hometowns projects.

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