DETROIT, MI. (July 11, 2005) – Armstrong Air Conditioning Inc. has joined forces with the Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) and Habitat for Humanity International by donating 20 Armstrong Air 93% AFUE one-stage gas furnaces to Habitat for Humanity’s 22nd Annual Jimmy Carter Work Project.
HARDI, a not-for-profit trade organization dedicated to advancing the science of wholesale distribution in the HVACR industry, donated an additional 11 Armstrong Air gas furnaces to the Detroit portion of the build. Together, HARDI Members, Heating, Airconditioning Ladies Organization (HALO) and Armstrong supplied over $85,000 worth of cash and product for the Michigan project. In all, 55 furnaces were provided to heat the new homes of worthy families in Detroit and Benton Harbor, Michigan.
This is the second time that HARDI’s Habitat for Humanity Committee has contributed to and worked on the Jimmy Carter Work Project. In 2003, HARDI members contributed over $25,000 to the blitz build held in Alabama and Georgia. This is the first Jimmy Carter Work Project for Armstrong Air Conditioning.
Habitat for Humanity International’s Jimmy Carter Work Project is an annual, internationally recognized event in which Former U.S. President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, join Habitat volunteers to build decent and affordable houses in partnership with people in need. The Carters have personally worked on Habitat homes around the world, housing more than 10,000 people in communities such as Los Angeles, New York City, Houston and Miami and in countries such as Hungary, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea and South Africa.
The Carters joined an estimated 3,000 volunteers from the United States and around the world in Benton Harbor and Detroit, Michigan during the week of June 17 – 24, 2005, constructing an estimated 31 Habitat homes in Detroit and 24 houses in Benton Harbor.
Both cities served as primary build sites for the Carters during the project. More than 80 Habitat for Humanity affiliates (local Habitat for Humanity organizations) throughout Michigan participated.
Struggles with affordable housing are evident in communities across Michigan. There are approximately 500,000 Michigan households that earn less than 50 percent of their county’s median income, making decent, affordable housing hard to find. Of these households, almost 75 percent, or nearly 375,000 families, use more than half their income for housing, leaving little money for food, clothing, health care, transportation and other necessities.
“Armstrong Air Conditioning is proud to be part of a project that will help thousands of individuals in Michigan gain a new lease on life,” states Kirk Thorne, vice president of sales and marketing, Distributed Heating and Cooling Products. “We are honored to donate our products and partner with an organization that has boosted the quality of life for millions of families.”
For more information, visit the Jimmy Carter Work Project web siteat www.habitat.org/jcwp/2005/.
ABOUT ARMSTRONG AIR CONDITIONING INC.
Armstrong Air Conditioning, Inc. is an industry-leading residential heating and air conditioning company with 75 years of quality and reliability. Focusing on the latest advances in energy technology, Armstrong offers state-of-the-art production facilities and an on-going commitment to research and development.