Lowe’s Renews Commitment to Job Corps Grads
 Lowe’s Companies, Inc. contributed another $50,000 to the Home Builders Institute (HBI), the workforce development arm of NAHB, to renew its commitment to the Building Careers Scholarship program that it established last year.
The funds donated by Lowe’s enable HBI’s Job Corps graduates to make the transition to the workplace by helping defray the costs of such necessities as tools, clothing, living accommodations and transportation. “We are elated by your continued support of our efforts to help at-risk youths start careers in the home building industry and look forward to another brilliant year in our partnership,” said HBI Chairwoman Patsy Smith. Mike Horn, Lowe’s vice president of commercial sales, called the scholarship program “a great opportunity for Lowe’s to strengthen the entire building industry while making a difference in the lives of deserving youths.” More than 20 HBI Job Corps graduates have benefited from the partnership. Ashley Davis, who finished her training under HBI electrical instructor Ray Coston at the Potomac Job Corps Center in Washington, D.C., used her scholarship to buy clothes, work boots and new tools for her job with Mastec/Advanced Technologies in Charlotte, N.C. Scholarship funds enabled Felicia Fox, a graduate from the Golconda Job Corps Center in Illinois, to move to Las Vegas to work for Helix Electric. “My life has dramatically changed,” Fox wrote to Lowe’s. “Without your help, I can’t imagine what I’d be doing now. I want to thank each and every one who has helped get me here. …If you keep your mind set, stay focused and work hard, you can go beyond your dream.” With fiscal year 2004 sales of $36.5 billion, Lowe's Companies, Inc. serves approximately 11 million customers a week at more than 1,000 home improvement stores in 48 states. Based in Mooresville, N.C., the 59-year-old company is the second largest home improvement retailer in the world. For more information, click here. HBI annually trains and places more than 2,000 at-risk youths enrolled in the Department of Labor’s Job Corps program in seven trades — carpentry, facilities maintenance, electrical wiring, painting, plumbing, brick masonry and landscaping. For more information on the HBI/Lowe’s Building Careers Scholarship, e-mail Keith Albright or Maria McIntyre at HBI, or call them at 800-795-7955 x8911 or x8912, respectively. | 
