Rebuilding Together and Lowe's Team up to Renovate and Repair Four Milwaukee Homes

Rebuilding Together and Lowe's Team up to Renovate and Repair Four Milwaukee
Homes

MILWAUKEE, June 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today volunteers from Lowe's of
Milwaukee are dedicating their time and expertise to improve the homes of four
local families.

The project includes work at the homes of homeowners such as:

-- Mary, 65, suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lives
alone on a very limited income. She has lived in her home for more
than
35 years and cannot afford to make much needed repairs to her front
door, interior and exterior painting, and her bathroom tub.
-- Roosevelt, 75, has lived in his home for 37 years and lives on a
limited
income. His son and son's girlfriend care for Roosevelt and also
live on a fixed income. Major work will take place at the home
including repairing interior doors, which are currently difficult to
open, plumbing repair and replacement, interior painting of rooms,
gutter and siding repairs, and sidewalk replacement to resolve water
draining towards home.
-- Candy, 55, lives with her daughter and her daughter's friend who
are students. Candy suffers from Anxiety/Stress, Asthma, Post
Traumatic
Stress Disorder and back problems. She has owned and lived in her
home
for two years and lives on an extremely limited income. Work will
include wood molding installed in many areas, light replacements,
cabinets in kitchen, some electrical work, and painting some rooms.
-- Dorothy has lived without a refrigerator for more than two years and
is
in need of major repairs. Work at her home will include replacing
kitchen cabinets and flooring, upgrading and replacing plumbing
fixtures, replacing her hot water heater, repairing stairways and
handrails, and replacing carpeting. Lowe's also generously donated
a refrigerator earlier this year.

These projects are made possible through a $1 million grant from Lowe's, and
four of more than 100 Rebuilding Together projects awarded a grant following
Lowe's annual Swing for Charity, a charitable golf event hosted by the company
and supported by its vendors.

"To be a part of the community means you roll up your sleeves and work with
neighbors to help make the lives of others better," said Lynnea Katz-Petted,
Executive Director. "Through these efforts, Lowe's is committed to preserving
and revitalizing the homes of the elderly, persons with disabilities and lower
income families."

Other local sponsors and participants include Business Volunteer Council,
Wisconsin Association of Home Inspectors, Lewis Electrical, and community
volunteers.

"Homeownership is under threat today in America," said Gary Officer, president
and CEO of Rebuilding Together. "With Lowe's and many other corporate
partners, we are working to preserve homeownership, one of the most important
elements of stability and sustainability in our communities."

"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 proud to partner with Rebuilding Together to renovate and
modify homes for some of our community's most vulnerable residents. Lowe's
shares Rebuilding Together's commitment to creating a safe and comfortable
environment to accommodate a homeowner's special needs."

Rebuilding Together is America's largest volunteer-based home-repair
organization bringing volunteers and communities together to improve the homes
and lives of homeowners in need. "Through our rebuilds this week, we're
bringing warmth, safety and accessibility to homeowners who do not have the
financial or physical wherewithal to complete home repairs and other necessary
improvements," said Lynnea Katz-Petted.

ABOUT REBUILDING TOGETHER
Rebuilding Together is the nation's largest nonprofit organization working to
preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods by providing
home repair and renovation services free of charge to those in need. Through
the support of corporate sponsors, local businesses and the hands-on work of
over 200,000 volunteers led by more than 200 affiliates, Rebuilding Together
renovates and repairs nearly 10,000 homes and nonprofit facilities annually.

In addition to its core home repair work, Rebuilding Together renovates
community centers and conducts home modification and repair programs that
focus on elder home safety, energy efficiency, veterans housing, and gulf
coast recovery.

For more information, visit www.RebuildingTogether.org.

Rebuilding Together Greater Milwaukee is part of the national organization,
Rebuilding Together, the nation's leading nonprofit working to preserve
affordable home ownership and revitalize neighborhoods by bringing volunteers
and communities together to improve the homes and lives of low-income
homeowners. Rebuilding Together Greater Milwaukee's (RTGM) mission is to
preserve and revitalize homes and communities, assuring that very low-income
elderly homeowners and disabled homeowners, as well as families with children,
live in warmth, safety and independence. RTGM is organized and operated for
the purpose of helping Milwaukee seniors age with dignity and peace, in their
own homes, by providing free repairs to elderly and disabled very low-income
homeowners residing in Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties. Since 2000 RTGM has
rehabilitated 210 homes, 5 nonprofits and invested over $4.6 million into
Milwaukee area housing. For more information or to get involved please
contact Lynnea Katz-Petted at 414-704-1581 or visit www.rtmilwaukee.org.

ABOUT LOWE'S
Lowe's is a proud supporter of Habitat for Humanity International, American
Red Cross, United Way of America, and the Home Safety Council, in addition to
numerous non-profit organizations and programs that help communities across
the country. In 2007, Lowe's and the Lowe's Charitable and Educational
Foundation together contributed more than $27.5 million to support community
and education projects in the United States and Canada. Lowe's also encourages
volunteerism through the Lowe's Heroes program, a company-wide employee
volunteer initiative. Lowe's is a FORTUNE(R) 500 company with fiscal year
2007 sales of $48.3 billion and has more than 1,525 stores in the United
States and Canada. For more information, visit Lowes.com/community.

SOURCE Rebuilding Together Greater Milwaukee

Maureen Rich, Lowe's Companies, Inc., +1-704-758-2298,
Maureen.a.rich@lowes.com; or Lynnea Katz-Petted of Rebuilding Together Greater
Milwaukee, +1-414-704-1581, rtmilwaukee@hotmail.com