NORMAN, OKLA. – (August 18, 2009) – For the second consecutive year, the Texas Gulf Coast & Louisiana chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of America recognized Luxaire® distributor Solar Supply Inc. with its WishMaker award. The chapter presented the awards to Quitman Moon, Solar Supply regional sales manager, during the organization’s donor recognition meetings.
According to Kelli Sarmiento, development coordinator for the Texas Gulf Coast & Louisiana chapter, the WishMaker award is presented to donors who have contributed a minimum of $6,000 to the organization.
“$6,000 represents the average cost of one wish for our chapter,” she explained. “Those who are able to donate that amount of money are designated as WishMakers and have the opportunity to sponsor a local child’s wish. They receive special recognition in our newsletter and are invited to attend our next quarterly meeting to accept their award.”
Until this year, WishMakers received a plaque in recognition of their support. This year, however, the chapter presented award winners with a platter that features the artwork of a Wish child.
“Attending the donor recognition meeting and receiving the WishMaker award is a numbing experience,” said Moon. “As you listen to the people there and understand what the organization is doing, it makes you want to get involved and stay involved.”
Getting involved and staying involved is exactly what Solar Supply has done. The company has played an active role in the Make-A-Wish program since Luxaire entered into a partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America in 2001. That national partnership has resulted in donations exceeding $1.75 million to the largest wish-granting charity in the United States. The most recent contract between the two organizations extends the national partnership into 2011 and commits $675,000 in Luxaire contributions over three years to the national program.
Solar Supply’s commitment to the program includes four wishes recently granted to children served by the Texas Gulf Coast & Louisiana chapter:
• Eight-year-old Byron and his family enjoyed an all-expenses-paid trip to Walt Disney World. Byron, who is living with sickle cell disease, stayed with his family at “Give Kids the World” Village and enjoyed meals every day at the Gingerbread House. They visited Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, MGM and Universal Studios and delighted in a visit from Universal Studio Friends and Barney.
• A desire to travel and see new places led 14-year-old Dylan to wish for a trip to Hawaii. The child, who has been diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, his parents and older brother traveled to Kahului-Maui where they stayed at the Westin Maui and enjoyed the island beaches each day of their stay. The family also hiked in Maui, made a trip with Sunshine Helicopters and, during a Molokini and Turtle Arches Snorkel Adventure with Pacific Whale Foundation, saw more than 25 species of fish living in an extinct, off-shore volcanic crater.
• A diagnosis of neurofibromatosis keeps 14-year-old Joshua inside most of the time. So, the teenager was thrilled to receive the Toshiba laptop he wished for. The Make-A-Wish Foundation also supplied him with a laptop backpack, computer cart, chair and surge protector as well as a $400 gift card to purchase four software programs.
• Giselle’s wish for some “pretty things” was granted when the five-year-old was treated to a day of shopping at the mall in Houston. Giselle is living with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and underwent chemo before her much-wished-for shopping spree. The day began with a limousine ride and included shopping for anything the young girl wanted. According to her mother, “Giselle had a great time, and I know she felt like a very special princess on this day.”
According to Moon, the people at Solar Supply feel special, too, as a result of the role they play in helping grant wishes to children like Giselle, Byron, Dylan and Joshua.
“Our relationship with the Make-A-Wish program just makes us feel good and special, to know that what we do can make a difference in a child’s life.
“When the Make-A-Wish organization honors us with WishMaker awards, we know that we are part of something that is giving back to the communities where we live and work. It gives the people who work at Solar Supply a sense of accomplishment and shows our customers that we are committed to community and family in a very personal and emotional way.”
The awards Solar Supply has received from the Make-A-Wish organization are displayed in the foyer of the company’s corporate offices in Lake Charles, La.
“You can’t miss them when you walk through the front door,” said Moon, “and that’s by design. We’re extremely proud of our relationship with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and want everyone who visits us to know that. “
In addition to Luxaire’s commitment to the national organization, the Luxaire network of distributors and dealers works with local Make-A-Wish chapters to organize a variety of fundraising activities, including raffles, golf outings and events affiliated with minor league baseball, Central Hockey League and Arena Football League teams. Using money raised by these and other fundraising activities, Luxaire has directly sponsored the wishes of more than 80 children in dealer markets.
Luxaire also encourages homeowners to participate in the program by donating all or a portion of product rebates to their local Make-A-Wish chapter during spring and summer promotions of Luxaire brand products.
“We appreciate our partnership with Luxaire,” said Sarmiento. “We typically rely on the efforts of individual organizations to raise enough money to fund a single wish. So, whenever we have partners like Luxaire, it’s just so helpful, because with their help we are able to grant multiple wishes.”
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. It is the largest wish-granting charity in the nation, with 65 chapters in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants a wish every 40 minutes and has granted more than 180,000 heartfelt wishes since 1980. For more information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation, visit www.wish.org.
Luxaire® products from Johnson Controls, Inc., include high-performance residential central air-conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces and accessories and light-commercial, packaged heating and cooling systems marketed through a network of distributors and delivered to home- and building-owners through independent Luxaire heating and air conditioning dealers. For more information about Luxaire, visit www.luxairebelievesinme.com or call 877-958-9247.
Johnson Controls
Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) is the global leader that brings ingenuity to the places where people live, work and travel. By integrating technologies, products and services, we create smart environments that redefine the relationships between people and their surroundings. Our team of 140,000 employees creates a more comfortable, safe and sustainable world through our products and services for more than 200 million vehicles, 12 million homes and one million commercial buildings. Our commitment to sustainability drives our environmental stewardship, good corporate citizenship in our workplaces and communities, and the products and services we provide to customers. For additional information, please visit http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/.
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