Store manager serves his community, one mask at a time

Aug 14, 2020

James Jackson knows a Lowe’s store like the back of his hand. He’s basically lived in one for the past 27 years. 

“I started with Lowe’s in ’93 as a cashier while I was still in college,” Jackson remembered. “I worked there from ’93 to ’97. When I graduated, I landed a job with Valspar, but I was servicing a Lowe’s store. I did that for 15 years. Then I came back to Lowe’s in 2020 as a sales manager and worked my way to store manager. 

“I’ve been in a Lowe’s store my entire adult career.”

In that time, Jackson has seen Lowe’s step up to serve its communities in a variety of ways: disaster response, military support, building homes for those in need, and the list goes on. So, when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered many small businesses and put first responders at risk, Jackson had faith Lowe’s would find another way to support. 

When 5,000 N95 masks arrived at his store in Franklin, Indiana, Jackson got right to work. 

“The first thing I’m going to do is take care of service people – fire departments, police departments, nursing homes, hospitals,” Jackson said. 

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But handing out 5,000 masks is no small task – a task this busy store manager didn’t always have time for during his workweek. So, he took this community work into the weekend. 

“I thought, ‘I could take this time and enjoy my day off, or I could use this time in a more impactful and meaningful way and give back to the community’,” Jackson said. “Not only where I do business but also where I live.”

Jackson visited two childcare facilities, a barbershop and beauty supply store – all of which were minority businesses. 

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“I was just kind of driving through where a lot of minority businesses were located and every place I went to it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I didn’t even know Lowe’s did anything like this.’” 

Jackson handed out roughly 700 masks on his day off and said he won’t quit until he passes out his last mask. And when businesses tried to pay for the highly sought-after PPE, Jackson explained Lowe’s just wanted to help small businesses get back on their feet.