Hundreds of people came to the annual pancake fundraiser this month at the Wedington Fire Department in Fayetteville, Arkansas, but this year things looked a little bit different. That’s thanks to the Lowe’s Hometowns project that gave the 45-year-old firehouse and community center a much-needed facelift that included long overdue new garage doors, a fresh coat of paint and new furniture.
Fire Chief Daniel Ingram says he and his crew were shocked when they learned they were one of the 100 impact projects across the country.
It's not something that we would typically spend our money on. Really, we try to spend our money on our trucks and our equipment and our personal protective equipment and things like that, so to be able to do these things around the station, it wouldn't have been possible without it.
In fact, the doors were so old, the man who originally installed them 30 years ago came back to work on the new ones and couldn’t believe the old ones were still working.
The fire station is all volunteer and has been since they were founded back in 1978. Ingram says as first responders, each of them comes to work because they truly care about their neighbors.
“I think to really do this; you have to be community oriented. You have got to care about other people and answer the call when others won't. I think that's one of the biggest things, and just doing the work and enjoying the people you're around.”
The fire station also serves as a community center, so the entire neighborhood is already enjoying the makeover.
“We don't pay our volunteers anything, so to be able to provide them a nice facility to be able to walk into and be proud of, and also, we hold community events here, we hold elections here, we have people coming in and out of here all the time from our community and all-around northwest Arkansas. To be able to give them a good place to come in and be proud and have a comfortable spot to have a birthday party or whatever the situation may be, that's priceless to us.”
Ingram says one of the coolest parts about the upgrade was that local Lowe’s employees came out and did some of the work themselves.
“Seeing all the people from Lowe's come to our facility, those are our local Lowe's people, I mean, local employees. We had managers coming out, and we had assistant managers coming out. I know at least on the first day, we probably had 10 or 12 Lowe's people, and they jumped right in and were working all day long to help us get this project up and going. They were installing floors, and they were doing hinges. Having them out here really has allowed us to make this happen, from just a work perspective but a material perspective. In all ways, they really are what helped make this happen.”
Jamie Ragland is Store Manager of Lowe's, Fayetteville, 432.
“I was super excited to be part of the fire department spruce up. My husband is a volunteer fireman as well in Oklahoma, and so it really touched my heart that this was the project that was selected.”
“When I think of first responders, I think of servant leaders. They are people in your community that they are not required to do this job, they do this job because there's something inside of them that drives them to do it, and they do it and never expect anything in return. When you have an opportunity to give back on this level, you definitely want to be a part of it. You raise your hand and want to be participating.”
The fire station spruce-up happened just in time for National First Responders Day, honoring the men and women who risk their lives for their communities. Ragland helped make sure the makeover went beyond just the basics.
“We figured out some good flooring that would be durable and last, be able to be cleaned, have kids in and out on it, breakfast served. They did tile in the bathrooms, we updated appliances, trim, ceiling tiles, new molding everywhere. Just spruced up the whole entire space for them,” Ragland explains.
Ragland says the Hometown projects are the reason she loves working for Lowe’s. “Lowe's continues to not only give back to their associates, but to their communities, and that's very high on my list of priorities coming from a volunteer family in the first place, and so I feel blessed.”
Lacey Kingery agrees. The Assistant Store Manager at the South Fayetteville says she and her team were proud to help with the project. “It's an honor to be able to do it. The team was super excited. Just getting involved with the community was really huge and really just letting them know philanthropy and giving back to the community is what Lowe's really stands for. It was huge for us.”
Chief Ingram says he is also incredibly grateful to Lowe’s.
“I can't say enough how appreciative I am of the opportunity to have Lowe's come out, for their support in the community, for our fire department, and I know we're not the only fire department that they help, and so for them to be able to help all the volunteers, all the fire departments just like us around the country, and there's a lot of them, to have that backing from them, I just don't know that there's enough thanks that I can give.
This month, Lowe’s is celebrating all National First Responders for the work they do in communities across the country. As a special “thank you” to the first responder community, eligible first responders can sign up to receive a digital coupon book with up to $1,500 in savings – redeemable now through Oct. 30th.
