Lowe’s lets kids hammer away
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That’s the philosophy at Lowe’s with their Kid’s Clinic, an event the store holds the second Saturday of each month at 10 a.m. The clinic lets kids build a pre-packaged project, designed and supplied by Lowe’s home office, complete with instructions and all the materials needed to make the item.
“Each month it’s something different that they build with their hands,” said Lowe’s Sales Manager Keith Goudeau. “Once they finish building them, they bring them back the following month and they decorate them, and when they do, we give them gift cards from Lowe’s for first, second and third place.”
All three places garner a $25 gift card, a bit of a departure from most contests.
Goudeau says the clinic is a big hit with the kids, and the parents as well.
“It’s grown each month,” he said. “The kids have a blast.”
The company started the program around 1998, according to Goudeau, and all the stores in the chain participate.
The children are provided with kid-sized safety goggles and a red Lowe’s shop apron, complete with name plate, and whatever tools they might need for the project.
“For each class we give them a certificate and a patch,” Goudeau said, “so mom can sew the patch on, and each time they come they get a different patch. So pretty soon the apron gets full.”
The kids are provided with a wide variety of projects ranging from a toy helicopter to functional items like bird houses and garden tool holders.
“But it’s always a design where they do a hands-on project,” Goudeau said. “The kids can learn to build and how to use their hands. Kind of like home improvement stuff.”
Goudeau says, though the program is mainly for the kids, there’s really no age limit.
“You can be 90 or 9-years-old,” he said. “It doesn’t matter. I let moms and dads build. I build with them. Everyone has a great time.”
Still, it’s watching the kids that make it fun.
“It gives them something to do on a Saturday morning,” Goudeau said, “and the kids love it.”