Rise Disaster Relief & Recovery, Inc. (RISE) is a nonprofit organization established to bridge the gap between available federal disaster relief and the ongoing needs of the community. RISE provides with dignity, compassion, humility, and kindness, relief and mitigation to citizens impacted by natural and human-caused disasters. RISE will continue to serve the citizens of Spruce Pine through revitalization efforts to rebuild the Riverside Park.

ReNforce supports justice-impacted women through housing, workforce development, and healing-centered reentry services. With the Lowe’s Hometowns grant, Redemption House will transform its outdoor space by rebuilding storm-damaged fencing, screening in the back patio, and creating a healing garden and gathering area. These improvements will offer safety, dignity, and connection—restoring not just a space, but hope and belonging for women reentering their communities.

RecoveryWorks is committed to providing access to resources, community, and recovery for Jefferson County’s unhoused neighbors. With the support of the Lowe’s Hometowns Grant, RecoveryWorks will renovate a storage and workshop room into a central meeting space for recovery groups and staff meetings by enhancing electrical outlets, installing new flooring and drywall, adding cabinets, furniture, decorations, and applying a fresh coat of paint.

St. Roch Community Garden is dedicated to increasing food access, environmental education, and sustainable agriculture in New Orleans. With the Lowe’s Hometowns grant, the organization will install two additional shipping containers, build a rooftop greenhouse, implement a rainwater collection system, and enhance security with fencing and vertical growing trellises. These improvements will expand the ability to provide fresh produce to local families, offer hands-on learning opportunities for youth, and create a welcoming gathering space for community events and workshops.

Project Beacon is dedicated to creating a community of belonging for adults with autism and other neurodiversities by creating inclusive spaces and opportunities that empower individuals to build independence and engage meaningfully in their communities. With support from Lowe’s Hometowns, the organization will enhance the Beacon Access Center by installing durable flooring, improving lighting and communication systems, adding sensory-friendly features, and upgrading accessibility through wayfinding signage and outdoor gathering spaces.

For 50 years, the mission of Preble Street has been to provide accessible, barrier-free services to empower people experiencing problems with homelessness, housing, hunger, and poverty and to advocate for solutions to these problems. The Lowe’s Hometowns grant will transform an underused and unsafe area of the Elena’s Way Wellness Shelter into a client consultation room and conference room through demolition, framing, installing furnishing, and updates such as mechanical retrofitting, electrical rewiring, painting, and finish work.

Pathways empowers women and children out of homelessness through hospitality, housing, and hope through four programs: two overnight shelters, a Day Center, and an Early Learning Center. The renovations will add an infant classroom to serve more children ages 8 weeks to 6 years in our Early Learning Center that exclusively serves children experiencing homelessness. The program helps keep individuals in the workforce, reduces the number of people experiencing homelessness, and prepares children for education during the most crucial years.

Pasadena Humane is dedicated to promoting compassion and care for all animals through sheltering, education, and community outreach. With support from Lowe’s Hometowns, the organization will complete a seismic retrofit of its 1930s Wildlife Department building. This critical improvement will ensure the safety of staff, volunteers, and over 1,300 injured and orphaned wild animals served each year, strengthening the region’s capacity for wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.

Our Place supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live meaningful, productive, socially connected lives in their home community. With the Lowe’s Hometowns grant, Our Place will renovate a recently purchased old church building to make the front door and bathrooms accessible, add key fob security access to the entrance doors, renovate an art room for participants, resurface the front walkway and back stairwell for safety. This project will ensure that Our Place is safe and accessible for our participants with disabilities.

Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) empowers individuals and families to achieve stability and self-sufficiency through housing, workforce development, and essential support services. With support from Lowe’s Hometowns, NVFS will renovate two community bathrooms at the SERVE Family Shelter, enhancing safety, accessibility, and hygiene for families experiencing homelessness. These improvements will create a dignified, trauma-informed environment that fosters stability and wellbeing for hundreds of individuals each year as they work toward permanent housing.