Sheri Crispin will never forget the accident that changed her life. It was August 2011 and the Lowe’s store manager from Twin Falls, Idaho had the weekend off to spend with her family. They collected some firewood and then decided to go for a ride on a four-wheeler. Crispin wrecked, requiring back surgery and more. Doctors told her she was paralyzed with a five to ten percent chance to walk again. “At that time, I was bound to a wheelchair and 12 years later I’m still in the wheelchair but making the most of everything and every day,” she says. Crispin was out of work for months, re-learning how to do almost every daily task.
She was anxious to get back to her work at Lowe’s but that required navigating a whole other set of challenges.
Crispin, who just celebrated her 20th year at the company, says the team at Lowe’s did more than just welcome her back – they worked hard to ease her burden and continue to this day to work to make her life just a little bit easier.
My Lowe's family was there for me at my time of need. My bathroom needed to be remodeled, and accommodations done for me to use it. The Lowe's team came out and helped with the bathroom remodel and put ramps on the three doors in and out of my house for me. I was so excited, and I was shown how important I was to my Lowe's family.
Crispin’s story is just one example of how the company prioritizes inclusiveness and creates an inspiring culture that empowers people of all abilities.
Lowe's received a 100% score on the 2023 Disability Equality Index®, earning recognition as a top scorer and "Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion" for the fourth time.
"Disabilities do not define a person's worth or potential,” says Marcus Macon, the Co-Chair of Lowe’s ABLE Business Resource Group. “Instead, it is our collective responsibility to remove barriers, embrace diversity, and provide unwavering support, for it is in the inclusive tapestry of humanity that we find our true strength."
Veronica Hazard has also spent 20 years at Lowe’s and now works as a Customer Service Associate in Campbellsville, KY. She was born with a condition that impairs her vision. Congenital Nystagmus causes the eyes to make rapid uncontrollable movements, leading to impaired acuity and depth perception. It means she can’t drive.
Veronica explains, “one of the biggest challenges I've had to face throughout my life is dealing with how cruel some people can be. Words do hurt and the pain can go a lot deeper and last a lot longer than any physical blow.”
Still, she says she is grateful she is surrounded by people who are always willing to lend a hand.
Living with an impairment is quite humbling. It helps me to put things into proper perspective, makes me more empathic to those around me and reminds me to not take anything or anyone for granted.
Crispin echoes that sentiment. "Sometimes one's ability is what you might need, so they could be the right person for the job. Everybody has their limitations, strengths, weaknesses and it takes all of us to be successful. Daily I teach others and I am learning also as we go.”
The Idaho store manager says the support she’s received at Lowe’s helped her realize her worth. “I feel supported at Lowe's with all the unwavering accommodations and support they have made for me to be successful in my career here at Lowe's. The best part of my job is the customer interaction. I am blessed when the customers ask me if I can talk to and help their disabled family member who is struggling with finding their way in life after being disabled.”
They are lessons from her store experiences she’s hoping to someday spread through the entire company, she explains “I would like to show I am part of something bigger than just my disability and help more of our associates company-wide. Showing that I am not willing to give up, even though I have to do things a little differently than others. My ultimate goal is to go all the way to the top and there is no disability that I will allow to hold me back.”
