Ceilings were caving in. Pipes had burst.
Ten inches of water covered the floor of the Austin Child Guidance Center following February’s unexpected and unprecedented winter storm deep in the heart of Texas.
“It was really devastating,” said Brittany Golden, associate director of development at the non-profit organization.
Austin Child Guidance Center is one of the longest-standing mental health organizations in Austin, Texas. Its mission is to serve families who wouldn’t otherwise be able to access mental health care for their children. The organization prioritizes its spending on providing services and helping people, not on building projects.
“To see the damage and not know how we were going to take that next step was really a trying moment,” Golden said.
That’s when Lowe’s stepped in.
It’s part of Lowe’s DNA. Every red vest associate wants to give back to the community.
As part of the 100 Hometowns initiative, Lowe’s volunteers went to work over an eight-week period cleaning, painting, power-washing, and landscaping the building and surrounding healing garden. That work, coupled with a financial grant, helped restore and reopen the center in late October as a safe and welcoming space for those in need to heal and thrive.
“To have the attention that Lowe’s gave us was unlike anything we’d experienced before,” Golden said while wiping away tears. “At a time that we were really overwhelmed, it felt like somebody had our back.”
