A new and updated back yard has come to Hope House in Manitowoc.
Yesterday (September 10th), staff from the Lowe’s Home Improvement store came to Hope House to help remodel some of the outside of their building as part of the Hometown Grants program.
Improvements included new mulch, repainting the railing of their deck, and helping to keep a swing set safe.
Lowe’s of Manitowoc Store Manager Bryain Haynes explained the grant program is the company’s largest commitment that they do.
He says his group of ten to twelve are happy to do the work.
“We love it. It’s exciting to us, it’s exciting to the team,” Haynes explained. “In the weeks leading up to this everybody is excited and pumped up. Hey, we can’t wait to get out there to be in the community and to wear our red vests. We wear these with pride.”
Hope House Executive Director Jan Graunke says a Lowe’s staff member reached out to them to nominate them for the grant program.
They were one of the 100 nonprofits in the U.S. to get some money for their project which is $41,000.
Graunke says she was ecstatic when they found out they got the grant since they’re a nonprofit.
“All of our dollars all go to helping our homeless population here in our program,” she noted. “We didn’t have the money to do outside work or painting.”
Graunke is very happy with the program.
“Being only one of the three that were picked in the state of Wisconsin out of 100, that’s pretty darn good,” she exclaimed.
This project won’t be just a one-time thing. Graunke says Lowe’s will come back and maintain the work that they’ve done every year.
About 1,800 projects are done across the country each year.
