Photo by Evan Bevins Julie Fought, pricing coordinator for the Vienna Lowe’s, cleans cabinets in the House to Home kitchen Friday. The Parkersburg and Vienna Lowe’s locations are working together to provide improvements at the day shelter as part of the Lowe’s Heroes program.

PARKERSBURG — House to Home director of operations Jessy Towner was looking for help with the day shelter’s kitchen when she applied for a grant with Lowe’s in Vienna.

This week, the day shelter is receiving a lot more, from not one area Lowe’s but two.

The south Parkersburg and Vienna locations have pooled their resources and chosen House to Home as the recipient of each store’s Lowe’s Heroes project. That provides the 501(c)3 nonprofit with $5,000 worth of material and merchandise — at cost, not retail — and labor from more than a dozen employees at each store.

“This is huge,” Towner said as Lowe’s employees worked to construct a new storage shed to replace one destroyed by fire in July, installed wall panels in the pantry and measured a new countertop for installation. “No donation has ever been small, but none have been quite this extensive.”

Lowe’s employees, who are provided eight hours of “give-back” time to serve the community, started their efforts at the Eighth Street shelter on Sept. 27. Friday, today and Sunday are “blitz days,” where a great deal of work will be done, said Jared Conger, manager of the south Parkersburg store.

Photo by Evan Bevins Michael Montgomery, left, product service associate at the Vienna Lowe’s, and Michael Kemp, product service manager, measure a wall panel outside House to Home in Parkersburg Friday.

Workers are installing two new refrigerators, two microwaves, new countertops, a sink and a new set of cabinets in the kitchen, as well as refinishing existing cabinets and redoing the pantry. Beyond that, they’re installing a new toilet and sink in a bathroom, placing new flooring in the hall, fencing in the backyard and more.

“We listened to Jessy, and she was talking about what she really needed, functionally,” said Bill Edwards, assistant manager of the Parkersburg store.

The toilet being replaced was “about to fall through the floor,” Towner said, while the new kitchen sink is larger, providing more room to wash dishes used by 60 to 80 people a day.

House to Home client and volunteer John Jewell said he’s impressed with the work being done.

“It’ll make a heck of a difference,” he said.

Photo by Evan Bevins Adam Congrove, front, kitchen and bath designer at Lowe’s in Parkersburg, and Stan Bennett, paint customer associate, place a wall panel in the pantry at the House to Home day shelter Friday.

In addition to getting some much-needed help updating the building, the project helps educate people in the community about what House to Home does, Towner said, noting some of the folks doing the work were unfamiliar with it.

“It’s a great way to put it out to the community: This is who we are. This is what we do. This is why we do it,” she said.

House to Home provides food, clothing, laundry facilities and other assistance to homeless individuals and others in need during the day, when most shelters are closed.

Photo by Evan Bevins Bill Sheppard, millwork specialist with the Parkersburg Lowe’s, walks through the kitchen at House to Home Friday.

Photo by Evan Bevins Parkersburg Lowe’s assistant manager Bill Edwards, front, and manager Jared Conger work on a storage building to replace one destroyed by a fire in July behind House to Home on Eighth Street in Parkersburg Friday.

Photo by Evan Bevins Michael Kemp, left, product service manager at the Vienna Lowe’s, and Michael Montgomery, product service associate, work on a countertop with a new larger sink for the kitchen at House to Home Friday.