• Each charity will receive $100,000; Consumers will help decide how remaining $600,000 is divided
MOORESVILLE, NC, Jan. 7, 2011 -- Lowe's and the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation are kicking off the New Year by donating a total of $1 million to four environmentally focused charities as a part of their first online community giving campaign. The charities, AMERICAN FORESTS, Keep America Beautiful, National Park Foundation and Water.org, will each automatically receive a $100,000 grant. The remaining $600,000 will be distributed based on the percentage of consumer votes each charity receives at www.lowes.com/give and on Lowe's Facebook page. The voting will take place from Jan. 9-21.
"Lowe's wanted to start the New Year by giving back to organizations that share our commitment to sustainability and helping people in need," said Larry D. Stone, chairman of the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation. "Each of the four charities we selected provides a great service in its own way, and we encourage our customers and anyone committed to the environment to help us decide how to best distribute the remaining grant dollars."
Consumers can vote by visiting www.lowes.com/give or on Lowe's Facebook page. Each person can vote once per day per e-mail address starting 12:01 a.m. January 9 through midnight January 21. The final percentages of votes for each charity will be posted on the Lowe's website by midnight on January 26.
Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation board of directors selected the four, well-established charities based on their missions, which align with one of Lowe's sustainability focus areas.
AMERICAN FORESTS is the nation's oldest nonprofit conservation organization. It plants millions of trees every year and educates the public about the tremendous environmental benefits of healthy forests. Through its Global ReLeaf program, American Forests has restored habitat for endangered wildlife, regenerated forests after devastating wildfires, and removed millions of tons of carbon from the atmosphere. Since 2000, Lowe's has worked with our suppliers to ensure that today's forests can be enjoyed for years to come through the practice of conservation and protection, and American Forests helps extend that commitment.
Keep America Beautiful (KAB) is the nation's largest volunteer-based community improvement organization. It combines education with hands-on stewardship to create cleaner, greener and safer communities and public spaces. KAB hosts its signature community improvement program, the Great American Cleanup, each spring to help with clean up and recycling efforts in more than 33,700 communities. Reducing waste in its communities is at the heart of Lowe's recycling strategies, with proactive programs for battery, appliances and packing materials already in place.
The National Park Foundation is the only national nonprofit supporting America's nearly 400 national parks. The Foundation's work uniquely connects the American people to their parks, both nationally and locally, through conservation, education and community building grants and programs. From hundreds of miles of trail restoration, to turning our national parks into classrooms for students of all ages, the Foundation invests in big, bold initiatives. By doing so, the Foundation cultivates a new generation of stewards for America's national parks. The Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation's main priorities are education and community improvement projects across the United States, including public spaces and recreation areas.
Water.org is a nonprofit organization co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White that has provided access to safe water and sanitation to hundreds of communities in Africa, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean over the past twenty years. Funds awarded from the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation will support Water.org's long-term development efforts in Haiti to increase the level of access to sustainable, safe water and sanitation services. Lowe's contributed $1 million to Haiti relief efforts in 2010. In addition, Lowe's is committed to explaining benefits of water conservation in stores and online, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) named Lowe's the WaterSense® Retailer Partner of the Year for the second year in a row in 2010.
"Lowe's has been committed to responsible business practices for more than 65 years and is continuously looking to improve sustainability efforts," said Michael Chenard, Lowe's director of environmental affairs. "We are excited to help these charities work toward a better future for our planet and future generations."
About Lowe's
Lowe's is a proud supporter of Habitat for Humanity International, American Red Cross, SkillsUSA/Skills Canada, and The Nature Conservancy, in addition to numerous nonprofit 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 1,725 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. For more information, visit Lowes.com/socialresponsibility.
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