Lowe's Announces $750,000 Grant To First Response Team of America

Lowe's expands partnership, pledges volunteer support to deliver immediate disaster relief to local communities

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Jun 10, 2014, 10:05 ET

MOORESVILLE, N.C., June 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its continued commitment to assist communities impacted by natural disasters, Lowe's today announced a $750,000 grant to the First Response Team of America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to working alongside local agencies to help save lives in the wake of destruction.

Lowe's Heroes teamed up with the First Response Team of America, one of Lowe's disaster relief partners, to help clean up communities and assist homeowners in Mississippi. (PRNewsFoto/Lowe's Companies, Inc.)

In May 2013, Lowe's donated truckloads of storage containers and nearly 1,000 relief buckets filled with cleanup supplies to help Oklahoma homeowners recover from deadly tornadoes. (PRNewsFoto/Lowe's Companies, Inc.)

The First Response Team uses specialized trucks and equipment to provide immediate assistance after disasters, when communities often must fend for themselves because the resources necessary for rescue and recovery are damaged, inaccessible or unavailable. The team has responded to more than 70 large-scale disasters since its founding in 2007. Lowe's began working with the First Response Team in 2012.

"The moments following a natural disaster can be very challenging for communities as individuals and families find themselves experiencing great loss," said Tad Agoglia, founder of the First Response Team. "With the support of Lowe's funding and Lowe's Heroes employee volunteers, our team is able to help communities take their first steps toward recovery and rebuilding."

In 2013, the First Response Team assisted 16 communities impacted by major disasters and more than 300 local Lowe's Heroes volunteers worked alongside the team to help homeowners in Illinois, Oklahoma and Colorado recover from flooding and tornadoes. This year, the team has responded to help tornado survivors in Arkansas and Mississippi.

"Lowe's is committed to being there for our neighbors in their time of greatest need," said Joan Higginbotham, Lowe's director of community relations. "By partnering with the First Response Team of America, we're able to help families and individuals recover in the difficult days and weeks after disasters."

ABOUT FIRST RESPONSE TEAM OF AMERICA
First Response Team of America is a nonprofit organization that responds to communities, free of charge, in the immediate wake of disasters with a fleet of highly specialized trucks and equipment. By studying weather patterns and communicating with leading meteorologists at The Weather Channel, FRTA anticipates when and where a disaster may strike and positions its team near storm locations to immediately be on the scene. Upon arrival, the team opens critical roadways blocked by debris and power lines; helps restart and mobilize critical service centers such as emergency rooms, nursing homes, shelters and critical first responder centers; provides temporary power solutions using industrial generators; provides lighting and infrared cameras for search and rescue; performs water rescues with its fleet of hovercrafts; and supplies commercial water pumps to empty out low-lying areas of cities and critical buildings such as hospitals. Since May 2007, the team has responded to dozens of disasters in the United States and Haiti.

ABOUT LOWE'S
Lowe's, a FORTUNE^® 100 home improvement company, has a 50-year legacy of supporting the communities it serves through programs that focus on K-12 public education and community improvement projects. Since 2007, Lowe's and the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation together have contributed nearly $200 million to these efforts, and for more than two decades Lowe's Heroes employee volunteers have donated their time to make our communities better places to live. To learn more, visit Lowes.com/SocialResponsibility and LowesInTheCommunity.tumblr.com.