USA WEEKEND Honors Lowe's and Rebuilding Together for Make a Difference Day Partnership

Award Celebrates Partners' Work Rehabilitating Homes In Need on National Day of Service

WASHINGTON, April 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation and Rebuilding Together have been awarded USA WEEKEND's Make a Difference Day Award for serving low-income homeowners in communities across the country on Make a Difference Day.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090421/REBUILDINGLOGO)

USA WEEKEND'S 19th annual Make A Difference Day was celebrated on Oct. 24, 2009. Make A Difference Day is the largest national day of helping others. From New York to Los Angeles, millions of Americans joined local community service groups and nonprofit partners to serve their neighbors in an effort to truly make a difference. Celebrities, politicians, sports stars, national foundations and countless other volunteers supported their chosen causes on Make a Difference Day.

More than 200 Rebuilding Together affiliates hosted projects throughout the country with the generous support of Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation and local Lowe's employees in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Lowe's provided 35 Rebuilding Together affiliates with $10,000 grants for rehabilitating homes in need.

"Our relationship with Lowe's has proven to be invaluable to communities and low-income homeowners across our country," said Gary Officer, President and CEO of Rebuilding Together. This national award is a testament to their steadfast dedication to Rebuilding Together's mission."

Since 2007, Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation has committed $4 million to fund Rebuilding Together projects nationwide. Together, the national partners have rehabilitated more than 230 homes, providing low-income, elderly and disabled homeowners with critical repairs, accessibility modifications and energy efficiency upgrades.

"Lowe's is in the business of helping people improve and maintain their homes," said Larry D. Stone, chairman of the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation. "We are honored to support Rebuilding Together's mission of preserving affordable home ownership and revitalizing communities by providing home modifications to our communities' most vulnerable residents."

Rebuilding Together and Lowe's community service contributions on Make a Difference Day were highlighted in the April 18 edition of USA WEEKEND. The magazine is included in more than 700 newspapers for a circulation of 22.6 million, reaching 48 million readers every weekend. Make a Difference Day is the magazine's signature event, inspiring readers to reach out to their communities.

To learn more about the Lowe's and Rebuilding Together partnership, visit www.rebuildingtogether.org.

About Rebuilding Together:

Rebuilding Together is the nation's leading nonprofit organization working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods by providing extensive rehabilitation and modification services to those in need at no cost to those served.  With the help of everyday citizen volunteers, skilled trades people, the support of local business and major corporate partners, Rebuilding Together affiliates in America's largest cities and smallest towns make life considerably better for thousands of low-income homeowners and the communities in which they live by completing 10,000 projects per year. Rebuilding Together has programs dedicated to energy efficiency, veteran's housing, aging in place and gulf coast reconstruction. For more information, visit www.RebuildingTogether.org. You can also follow Rebuilding Together on Twitter @rebldgtogthr or become a fan on Facebook at Facebook.com/RebuildingTogether. 

About Lowe's:

Lowe's is a proud supporter of Rebuilding Together, Habitat for Humanity International, American Red Cross, SkillsUSA/Skills Canada, and The Nature Conservancy, in addition to numerous non-profit organizations and programs that help communities in North America. In 2009, Lowe's and the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation together contributed more than $30 million to support community and education projects in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Lowe's also encourages volunteerism through the Lowe's Heroes program, a company-wide employee volunteer initiative. Lowe's is a FORTUNE® 50 company with fiscal year 2009 sales of $47.2 billion and has more than 1,700 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico.  For more information, visit Lowes.com/community.

SOURCE Rebuilding Together