BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — Lowe’s Home Improvement will perform nearly $200,000 at two volunteer fire department facilities in the state.
Lowe’s District Manager Brittany Roberts said they’ll do the work through the Lowe’s Hometowns program. Materials are provided and associates participate in completing the projects, but members of the community are encouraged to help as well.
“The Hometowns project is our largest-ever community impact program,” Roberts said. “The company committed over $100 million over a period of five years to restore spaces that are critical to communities.”
The Milton Volunteer Fire Department in Cabell County has been awarded $142,000 through the program. This project will be a partnership with the Cabell County Career Technology Center’s Carpentry program that will include new flooring, wall coverings, acoustic ceilings in the restrooms, a concrete parking area and new storage room for the fire department.
The Spelter Volunteer Fire Department in Harrison County will receive an award valued at $30,000 that will improve the look and feel of the facility.
“We’ll renovate the facility’s common room, the kitchen, sleeping quarters, and the gym,” Roberts said. “Flooring, ceilings, and paint will be updated throughout the facility to create a more comfortable space for the hard work they do.”
Lowe’s associates will do most of the work through a program that offers the regular wage when an employee donates time to the program. This project is one of 1,700 across the country that will be completed through the program.
“Through ‘Give Back Time’ the associates can donate eight hours of their time that the company reimburses them for,” Roberts said. “So, we’ll have a lot of our own volunteers through the district.”
Members of the department will also help, but members of the community are encouraged to help as well.
“Any volunteer work for the community would be encourage, but we’ll have our set of volunteers to take on the project,” Roberts said.
Roberts said the nomination period for 2025 and she encouraged people to look around their communities and make a recommendation.
“We do programs for the youth, we do first responder facilities, veterans services, field trades facilities, and anything to help with accessibility,” Roberts said.