Helmwood Heights receives classroom makeovers

Several elementary classrooms are receiving a makeover to match a facelift the school itself received.

Kelly Cantrall

Lowe’s employees David Brookins, left, and Pete DiPietro install shelving Monday in a classroom at Helmwood Heights Elementary School.

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Kelly Cantrall

Lowe’s employees David Brookins, left, and Pete DiPietro install shelving Monday as part of a grants and volunteer project given to Helmwood Heights Elementary School.

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Helmwood Heights Elementary School in Elizabethtown received $26,000 in grant money from Lowe’s for supplies and furnishings in the first-grade classrooms. The classrooms also were chosen for the yearly Lowe’s Heroes Program project.

Teacher Jessica Turner said she and fellow first-grade teachers were looking for grant money to help furnish classrooms for the upcoming school year. The building is nearing the end of a complete renovation, and the budget didn’t include money for bookshelves or other furniture.

The teachers found two grants on Lowe’s website — the Community Grant and the Toolbox Grant — and decided to apply for both to increase their chances of receiving money. They asked for $21,000 from the Community Grant and $5,000 from the Toolbox Grant.

As part of the grant applications, Turner contacted local Lowe’s manager Daniel Toms, who decided designing the classrooms would be perfect for the Heroes Program, in which Lowe’s stores pick community projects to work on as a volunteer effort.

The teachers learned in May they would receive every dollar for which they asked. Teacher Brittany Vickery said they didn’t expect to receive both grants.

“Oh gosh, we were speechless,” she said.

They were left silent once again after they saw designs created for the classrooms, Toms said. He said unveiling the plans to the teachers was the best part of the project.

“They couldn’t speak,” he said.

Lowe’s employees have put in nearly 400 hours so far on the project, and Rachel Brosky Interiors and Lisa Addington also have helped with decor.

Kelly Cantrall can be reached at (270) 505-1747 or kcantrall@thenewsenterprise.com.