Lowe’s Donates $1 Million, Tool Rental Trailer, to Support Recovery Efforts After Kentucky Tornadoes
Lowe's this week announced that it will donate $1 million to support immediate relief and recovery efforts after tornadoes cut through Kentucky and other states, causing catastrophic and unprecedented damage. The $1 million donation will assist Lowe's disaster relief partners including the American Red Cross and Lowe's nonprofit pro customers, helping these organizations and others provide emergency shelter, critical relief supplies, food, blood center operations and comfort to those affected by the deadly tornadoes.
This week, the Lowe’s Tool Rental Disaster Response Trailer will be at the Mayfield, Ky., store to help people get safely back into their homes and get their businesses up and running. The trailer provides affordable rental options for equipment that customers may only need for one-time use such as generators and chainsaws.
"It's heartbreaking to see the devastation this has caused for so many families and communities this close to the holidays," said Marvin Ellison, Lowe's chairman and CEO. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have lost their homes and loved ones, including members of the Lowe's family. We couldn't be more proud of the way our teams have already stepped up to help their neighbors."
Less than 24 hours after a tornado swept through Mayfield, the epicenter of the destruction across the central United States, associates from Lowe's in Mayfield spent their Saturday boarding up the Mayfield police department and city hall. In Bowling Green, Ky., associates donated 60 cases of water and critical supplies to assist residents of splintered subdivisions and 50 battery-powered lanterns to a senior living home that had lost power. In the coming days, Lowe's stores will distribute additional emergency supplies and support to affected communities.
More than 100 associates from Lowe's emergency response teams also will land at stores in Kentucky this week to help with recovery efforts. These specially trained associates are voluntarily leaving their home stores in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee to provide customer support and give fellow associates a chance to focus on their families.
Lowe's is providing additional assistance for its associates, including fueling stations, meals and showers, washers and dryers to help those without power or water. The company is also expanding financial assistance provided to associates through the Lowe's Employee Relief Fund. Lowe's is doubling the company's match, contributing $2 for every dollar an employee donates.
This year, Lowe's has committed more than $4 million to support disaster relief.
Visit Lowe's Newsroom for updates on Lowe's relief efforts and continued support.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.