Lowe’s To Support American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Efforts

Company to Match Customer Contributions up to $1 Million

WASHINGTON, Monday, August 16, 2004 — In response to Hurricane Charley and Tropical Storm Bonnie, Lowe's and the American Red Cross are working together to help communities recover with on-the- ground support, and by activating Lowe's in-store customer donation program to support the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. All Lowe's stores on the Gulf and East Coasts will serve as official cash donation sites for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Lowe's will match customer donations dollar-for-dollar up to $1 million dollars.

"Lowe's is a tremendously valued and committed partner of the American Red Cross. This relationship is critical to our ability to respond to disasters such as the recent hurricanes. Money raised through the Lowe's customer donation program will help the American Red Cross provide for people's basic needs – food, shelter, health and mental health services – following the storms," said Skip Seitz, Senior Vice President, American Red Cross.

Lowe's command center is expediting emergency products to areas hardest hit and those in the storms projected path, including items such as generators, plywood, bottled water, chain-saws, shop-vacs and cleaning supplies. Working with local emergency officials, Lowe's was able to re-open all of its Florida stores on Saturday to assist residents as they clean-up and rebuild.

"Since becoming a national partner with the American Red Cross in 1999, Lowe's and our customers have provided more than $7 million in support for victims of disasters," said Larry Stone, Lowe's senior executive vice president of operations. "We're proud to help our neighbors in any way we can to prepare and recover from Bonnie and Charley."

Lowe's serves as an official Red Cross cash donation site and responds to disasters by contributing to local and national Red Cross disaster relief efforts, donating product and supplying volunteers.

About Lowe's
Lowe's is a proud supporter of Habitat for Humanity International, American Red Cross, United Way of America, and the Home Safety Council, in addition to numerous non-profit organizations and programs that help communities across the country. Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation awards more than $2 million annually to diverse organizations across the United States. Lowe's also encourages volunteerism through the Lowe's Heroes program, a company-wide employee volunteer program aimed at preventing unintentional home injuries. Lowe's, a FORTUNE® 50 company with fiscal year 2003 sales of $30.8 billion, has more than 975 stores in 45 states. For more information, visit Lowes.com/community.

About the American Red Cross
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley and thousands of other disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.