On June 28, Hurricane Beryl became the earliest-forming and strongest June hurricane on record. The hurricane claimed dozens of lives and caused more than $6 billion in damages in the U.S. alone.
Texas bore the brunt of the storm, with its residents enduring 70-mile-per-hour winds and heavy rainfall. Nearly 3 million of its residents lost power, and 42 lost their lives. Houston was in Beryl’s direct path.
Lowe’s newest Home Team member and quarterback, C.J. Stroud, wanted to lend a hand to support Houston-area residents, and he knew just who could help. After making local connections, Stroud, representatives from the C.J. Stroud Foundation and Lowe’s associates partnered to identify residents needing support.
It was Lowe’s District Pro and Services Support Manager Raquel Lazard who first met Houston residents Henry and Jean Smith. They were among thousands whose homes sustained significant damage in the storm. When the couple realized the extent of the destruction, they worried about how they would recover.
“At that moment, I thought, ‘Oh Lord, what am I going to do now?’ I found out that I didn’t have insurance for that kind of damage; that really hurt, but I knew I would have had to come up with it one way or the other. But God sent me somebody,” Jean explained.
Jean calls Raquel her “angel from Heaven.” On Tuesday, August 28, Lowe’s red vest associates, vendors and members of the C.J. Stroud Foundation completed repair work for two homes, including The Smiths.
“I am from this community,” Raquel said. “It means a lot that I’m in this position and work for a company that can give back to the community that I was brought up in.”
In addition to the Smiths, Lowe’s and the C.J. Stroud Foundation provided critical home repairs for homeowner Laura Duffy. The repairs included partial fence replacements, roofing repairs, critical landscaping needs and other essential items that provided safer housing for the residents.
C.J. and his mother, Kim Stroud, who serves as the Foundation’s President, were on hand throughout the community project to greet Texans fans and pitch in to help. The Smiths grandson, Ken, said the family is still in shock.
“This support means everything. Y’all are angels, blessings from God. We’re still flabbergasted. It’s just incredible,” Ken said.
Jean agreed there are no words to describe how much the support meant to her family. “I just appreciate it,” she said. “I thank everybody who participated in this, especially C.J.”
Earlier this summer, Lowe’s red vest associates acted fast and responded in response to Hurricane Beryl. They responded with truckloads of water, hurricane response buckets and totes, clean-up supplies and power tools like chainsaws for use by first responders across the impacted region. Lowe’s partners with nonprofit organizations like the American Red Cross, National VOAD, FLASH and the Salvation Army to help the communities it services recover before, during and after storms. Learn more here.
