NASCAR and Lowe's teaming up to give back.
North Carolina and many other states are still trying to pick up the pieces after their communities were devastated by Hurricane Helene. The natural disaster moved up through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia at the end of September, and completely devastated mountain towns in western North Carolina.
That's where much of the relief efforts are still ongoing. Though you might not hear about in the news cycle much anymore, some people are still without homes and many North Carolina residents are just hoping for some sense of normalcy once again - especially during the holiday season.
Country music stars like Eric Church and Luke Combs banded together to raise money with a massive Concert For Carolina event. All of the proceeds went to help fund disaster relief, and Church also announced a plan to build 100 homes for families that were affected by the hurricane and the subsequent, devastating flooding. And country music stars weren't the only ones that stepped in to help.
NASCAR and Lowe's teamed up in order to build and then deliver 100 tiny homes for residents that wish to stay at their address while they repair and rebuild their own homes. The idea was sparked when Danny Kelly, the co-owner of Kelly McArdle Construction of Charlotte, had a conversation with Julie Yenichek, Lowe’s Senior Director of Community Relations.
Kelly initially thought he could help out the impacted communities on his own, but after visiting the hardest hit areas, he realized that it was going to take a group effort - and a lot of people working together - to help those in need:
"It was shocking to see. It was like a war zone. It was unbelievable. When I drove by and saw tents and tarps and stuff people were sleeping in out there knowing winter is coming, I didn’t know what these people were going to do."
It was only when Kelly spoke with Julie Yenichek that they were able to come up with a plan to provide housing for residents that wanted to stay at their homes - even if there homes were in disrepair. Julie apparently pitched the idea of tiny-homes-on-wheels to the construction business owner, and that was the lightbulb moment he needed:
"She told me she wanted to build a hundred tiny homes and I thought, 'Oh my God, that’s perfect.' I’ve been looking for my opportunity to do something big, but I don’t have the resources to do it. And she said they had all these volunteers lined up, and all the supplies lined up, they just didn’t know how to do it. So, we got on a few phone calls with different people and just sketched it up and within couple days had the plan together."
That's where Lowe's stepped in. They recruited the volunteers and provided the supplies and the space to build the homes. As the Lowe's Senior Director of Community Relation said herself, it was a daunting task, but one that really made a lot of sense:
"The idea really came from several people that have been in Western Carolina, seeing all the devastation and all that people lost and knowing that people that desperately want to stay on their land and be there as they rebuild. And so as we thought about that, building a tiny home on wheels allowed them to stay on their land while they rebuild."
So Lowe's kept the supplies coming, and the volunteers worked around the clock to get tiny homes erected on movable trailers for easy transportation. Their ultimate goal was to get 67 built and delivered by Christmas, and transport the remaining 33 tiny homes by the middle of January.
Here's a video showing a portion of the 100 being delivered just in time for Christmas:
https://twitter.com/matt_vanswol/status/1871947978271080522
So where does NASCAR come in, you might be asking?
Lowe's worked to get the homes built, and then NASCAR stepped up by using their haulers to take them the rest of the way to families in need. And these little homes are nothing to sneeze at - and are certainly just what families in North Carolina needed.
Each tiny home measures eight feet wide by sixteen feet long. They are securely set upon on a trailer, and each home can sleep three to four people (perfect for a small family). The houses features a kitchen, a bathroom, two full size beds (in a bunk style) and are furnished by the Lowe's design team. They can also easily be connected to electricity, and have a heating and air unit.
All in all, it's a wonderful act of kindness and support by Lowe's and NASCAR, and it's undoubtedly helping families in the North Carolina area get their lives - and their homes - back in order. You can watch and learn more about the tiny home outreach in the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=uczjKzSc3jE&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fcorporate.lowes.com%2F&source_ve_path=Mjg2NjY
