Dive Brief:
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Employee-volunteers from home improvement retailer Lowe’s are tackling the ill effects of severe winter weather in 10 of America’s hardest-hit cities. Volunteers are working on vulnerable public spaces like playgrounds, including painting, landscaping, creating outdoor rooms and adding curb appeal, the company said.
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The retailer is dispatching employees as part of its “Lowe’s Heroes” program to deal with snow, ice, and mud in Boston, Buffalo, New York; Detroit; Hartford, Connecticut; Louisville, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; Newark, New Jersey; New York City; Portland, Maine; and Providence, Rhode Island.
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Meanwhile, Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies says that the winter could help spur home-improvement spending this year that could exceed the previous $324 billion record, MarketWatch reports.
Dive Insight:
This past season has seen one of the most severe winters in recent memory, and some of the consequences are still lurking under banks of snow. In areas hit hard by winter, long-in-coming spring brings not just relief, but also the stark reality of the effects of snow and ice. Many public areas will benefit from the efforts by these Lowe’s teams, though most homeowners will be left on their own to assess and tackle their own winter devastation.
That should help boost business for home-improvement retailers, and, in fact, it could be a record year. Many homeowners are facing significant repairs — not just voluntary “improvements” — and MarketWatch reports that they’re turning to credit to help pay for it all.