Press Release:

PGM Client NFP Campaign wins Communitas Awards

   

Employees at Perfect Air Heating & Air Conditioning have come up with A Perfect Cause - an original plan to help with two difficult issues: homelessness and global warming.

HOMELESSNESS: One in every 20 people in DuPage County lives in poverty. That's a mind-blowing 45,000 individuals. A further 133,800 DuPage residents are considered very low income, living at 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. Every day, these people - men, women, and children - face the terrifying risk of homelessness.

GLOBAL WARMING: On the environmental side, the earth is getting warmer, affecting weather patterns and sea levels. The EPA estimates the typical household furnace contributes between 9,500 to 14,000 pounds of CO2 emissions annually. But by keeping furnaces and air conditioners tuned up and running efficiently, households can waste less energy and reduce overall CO2 emissions, which may help diminish global warming.

HOW A PERFECT CAUSE STARTED:
Perfect Home Services aims to do something for both issues. President Justin Carrol says the idea started with a conversation. He and his fiancee were discussing ways the company could make a difference in the world. The conversation drifted from helping people who are struggling because of the economy to helping with the global warming issue. Soon, they got to thinking about combining the two goals.

Their plan was modest at first. They knew they wanted to help someone in their community; they liked the idea of establishing a personal relationship with a family in need, and they felt their donation would have a bigger impact if they kept the project local. Also, Justin thought they could tie the project in with one of the company's core services - the annual heating & cooling system check up that Perfect Home Services calls the Clean & Check, something every homeowner needs (whether they realize it or not) and that ultimately helps the environment. Suddenly, the plan started to come together.

Excited, Justin went to his staff with the idea. They loved it, and A Perfect Cause was born.

THE FAMILY:
As part of the company's "A Perfect Cause" campaign, Perfect Home Services will donate $50 of every $79 Clean & Check fee to a local family that is facing serious economic troubles. Their first Perfect Cause was a local family in Oswego, Illinois. Their story, like so many others, is heart wrenching.

Jim and Angela, parents of two children originally, lovingly opened their home and their hearts as they adopted four siblings in desperate need of help, including a baby born addicted to drugs.

Meanwhile, the family was shocked when Jim was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a rare, painful and crippling disease that is, unfortunately, also incurable. Unbelievably, Angela was also diagnosed with cancer in her thyroid and lymph nodes. Radiation seems to have put the cancer into remission, but Angela must see her oncologist twice yearly and take regular medication. Jim also took 10 to 12 different pills each day for the AS, on top of physical therapy.

Medical bills for the family mounted quickly, despite health insurance coverage through Jim's work. After spinal fusion surgery in 2005, the health insurance company increased the family's premiums by 30%, and the family could barely make ends meet. They were served with foreclosure papers in 2007.

Jim had always been a big, strong, healthy man who did maintenance work for a living, but AS kept him bed-ridden and in constant pain. He was often unable to work and was finally laid off in 2008. Devastated by his inability to care for himself or his family, he spiraled into a severe depression from which he would never recover. On July 4, 2008, Jim committed suicide.

Angela now struggles with daily life raising six children under the age of 14 on her own while running her business, a day care facility in her home. She and the children receive Medicaid, which helps - in particular because her five-year-old daughter was recently diagnosed with epilepsy.

Their home means everything to this family. In so many ways, it's all they have left. Angela and Jim built the house, and for the kids, the house is full of memories of happier times with their dad. The mortgage company has agreed to restructure her loan, so she won't be forced to move her family for the time being. But she can barely afford the mortgage, given her circumstances, and she lives in constant fear of financial ruin. She tries to be upbeat and optimistic, but it's hard for any one person to shoulder as much as she has been through.

THE PROJECT:
Perfect Home Services looks forward to helping this family move forward.

Justin loves the idea of tying together something every homeowner needs - an annual heating/cooling system tune up - with a campaign that helps this local family trying to hold on to their home.

He explains, "Every heating & cooling system needs an annual tune-up. This system is one of the most expensive purchases a person makes for their house - even more than other big ticket items like windows and roofs. Even new systems are not immune; these frequently are not properly installed, and therefore do not operate at the efficiency the homeowner paid for. But if this system is properly maintained, homeowners can save themselves a ton of trouble, not to mention nearly double the life of the system, saving hundreds if not thousands of dollars."

HIGH HOPES
Justin has been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm with which his employees have embraced this campaign. The campaign began in August 2009, and there is no end timeline or expiration date in mind. The company hopes that A Perfect Cause will resonate with their customers and catch on within the greater community. Ideally, as word of the campaign spreads, more homeowners will contact Perfect Home Services for their annual Clean & Check, and the benefits of A Perfect Cause will continue to spread.

"This is really snowballing into an awesome thing," Justin says. "As the project grows, we'd like to help as many people as we can. We just want to give back to our community."

ABOUT PERFECT HOME SERVICES
Perfect Home Services has been family-owned since 1992. The company's goals are simple: to be the very best at what they do. The company is proud to be an elite Trane Comfort Specialist Dealer, with a 98% customer satisfaction score and a 98% referral rating. Additionally, the company has never had a Better Business Bureau complaint in its 17 years - in an industry where two to three complaints per year is the average. Perfect Home Services has been certified by North American Technician Excellence (NATE) and is one of the few NATE Quality Circle Contractors in the southwest suburbs. The company is an Executive Premier Member of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and was a finalist for the organization's 2007 Small Business of the Year Award.