Lowe's Heroes is a 10-year-old volunteer program that encourages employees in a location to team together, adopt a volunteer project with a local nonprofit organization or K-12 public school and make a difference.
According to Todd Wingard, manager of Lowe's of Danbury, every year, each of the nearly 1,800 Lowe's stores throughout the United States allots $2,500 to give back to the community.
In July, the city of Danbury reached out to Lowe's to help make improvements on the emergency shelter, which was built in 1982 and houses 15 men and five women.
Lowe's went above and beyond the scope of that request, according Taylor O'Brian, public relations coordinator for the city of Danbury.
Repairs to the home and its surrounding half-acre property included fixing the garden for curb appeal. "The garden had overgrown plants," Wingard said. "We are using plant material that is easy to maintain."
Another repair was fixing an area underneath the steps of the home to make it maintenance free. "We're putting down a new layer of gravel as well as removing weeds in front of the house," Wingard said.
Other improvements they made Thursday included repairing the shower and floor and installing new ceramic tile in the women's bathroom, installing a new cabinet and utility sink in the laundry area and replacing the mini-blinds in all the rooms.
"I appreciate all the hard work that the folks from Lowe's are doing with us. They are a really strong corporate partner," said Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton.
New Street Shelter Director Mike Finn said, "I want to thank you so much on behalf of all the people in Danbury who will benefit from these improvements.
"Todd and his men are a godsend," said Finn, a 30-year resident of Danbury. "We are on a very limited budget that the state has decided to minimize.
"The people who come here have nothing. Anytime they need to, they can come by, take a shower and eat, and they feel grateful," Finn said.
Finn said the shelter, which is open all day, year-round, has 20 to 25 people residing in it at one time. It's one of three shelters in Danbury. The other two are the Dorothy Day Hospitality House on Spring Street and the Good Samaritan Mission on Maple Avenue.
For more information on Lowe's Heroes, click here.
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