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Midwest HVAC News
Luxaire® joins
Make-A-Wish® Kansas to help wish kid Kaleb swim with sharks.
Company sponsors wish for teenager to swim with sharks as part
of Hawaii trip.
 When is swimming in the company of sharks three miles offshore a
cool thing? When you are a teenager and doing it in the safety of a
cage. In fact, for Kaleb, the experience was a wish-come-true – part
of an opportunity made possible by Make-A-Wish Kansas, an
organization that grants the wishes of children with
life-threatening medical conditions, and Luxaire®, a brand of
Johnson Controls.
Kaleb, who was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma almost two
years ago, was referred to Make-A-Wish through his child life
specialist. According to Ashley Scheideman, chief executive officer
of Make-A-Wish Kansas, a child must be referred to the organization
by a parent or legal guardian, a medical professional or the child.
“After a child has been referred to us and approved, our
wish-granting team of volunteers, who are the lifeblood that makes
this work, go out and meet with the family and help the child
identify a wish,” Scheideman said.
In Kaleb’s case, the wish-granting team of volunteers happened to be
three teachers from his school district, making the connection a
special one for Kaleb and for them.
According to Scheideman, trips to Hawaii are not an unusual request,
usually accounting for four or five wishes a year through the Kansas
chapter. However, introducing the shark experience made Kaleb’s wish
unique.
In March, Kaleb, his mother, stepdad and two sisters jetted off to
Hawaii, where they were greeted at the airport with leis. The
itinerary for the seven-day trip included a visit to Pearl Harbor, a
luau and a deep sea fishing expedition, where Kaleb caught several
different types of fish. However, the highlight of the trip came
when Kaleb and his family boarded a boat that took them three miles
off the shoreline. There, Kaleb, his mother, stepdad and one of his
sisters jumped in a cage in the water and watched as sharks swarmed
and swam up to the cage – “the coolest thing,” according to Kaleb.
The entire experience was wonderful for the family. Kaleb’s parents
said that they would not have changed a thing about his wish, which
“allowed us to be together as a family again and do something that
did not involve cancer.”
Luxaire sponsors one wish each year for a child in Kansas, in
addition to several other wishes granted throughout the country. The
company also sponsors the chapter’s annual holiday mailing. “This is
our annual fundraising piece that goes out around Christmas,”
explained Scheideman. “We receive $2,000 to $2,500 from Luxaire to
support the mailing and depending on the year, we raise between
$11,000 and $15,000 in donations. So, Luxaire’s sponsorship of the
mailing is huge, because the resulting donation enables us to grant
three more wishes to children throughout the 99 Kansas counties we
serve. So instead of one wish a year, it’s as if Luxaire is helping
us fund four wishes.”
Luxaire’s involvement with Make-A-Wish is not limited to Kansas. In
fact, the company is active with the wish-granting organization
throughout the country, based on a relationship between Luxaire and
Make-A-Wish that began in 2001 and has resulted in donations
totaling more than $2.6 million, enough to grant nearly 364 wishes.
The most recent agreement between the two organizations extends the
relationship into 2014 and commits $750,000 in Luxaire contributions
over three years to the organization nationwide.
“Our relationship with Luxaire is so important to us,” said
Scheideman, whose three-person staff is working hard to make up for
a decline in direct public support that she attributes to current
economic conditions.
“We typically grant 70 wishes a year, and that number isn’t going
down even though our income is,” she explained. “We just work hard
to find creative ways to keep costs low, and we rely heavily on
companies like Luxaire that help to keep the wishes flowing.
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“Luxaire’s support
is huge,” she continued. “Knowing there are companies out there
that take their civic duty seriously and can be counted on for
support is very reassuring, especially in these tough times. In
this particular case, Kaleb’s wish was truly a magical
experience for his entire family, and it could not have happened
without the continued support of Luxaire.”
Luxaire® products from Johnson Controls 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 independent
Luxaire heating and air conditioning dealers. For more
information about Luxaire, visit
www.joinluxaire.com.
Johnson Controls
Johnson Controls is a global diversified technology and
industrial leader serving customers in more than 150 countries.
Our 168,000 employees create quality products, services and
solutions to optimize energy and operational efficiencies of
buildings; lead-acid automotive batteries and advanced batteries
for hybrid and electric vehicles; and interior systems for
automobiles. Our commitment to sustainability dates back to our
roots in 1885, with the invention of the first electric room
thermostat. Through our growth strategies and by increasing
market share we are committed to delivering value to
shareholders and making our customers successful. In 2013,
Corporate Responsibility Magazine recognized Johnson Controls as
the #14 company in its annual "100 Best Corporate Citizens"
list. For additional information, please visit
https://www.johnsoncontrols.com.
Make-A-Wish
Make-A-Wish® grants the wishes of children with life-threatening
medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope,
strength and joy. According to a 2011 U.S. study of wish impact,
most health professionals surveyed believe a wish-come-true can
have positive impacts on the health of children. Kids say wishes
give them renewed strength to fight their illnesses, and their
parents say these experiences help strengthen the entire family.
Based in Phoenix, Make-A-Wish is one of the world’s leading
children’s charities, serving children in every community in the
United States and its territories. With the help of generous
donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, Make-A-Wish grants a
wish somewhere in the country every 38 minutes. It has granted
more than 226,000 wishes since its inception in 1980; nearly
14,000 in 2012 alone. Visit Make-A-Wish at
wish.org to
learn more.
Make-A-Wish® Kansas
The mission of Make-A-Wish is to grant the wishes of children
with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human
experience with hope, strength and joy. The Kansas chapter
accepts referrals and grants wishes for children in every Kansas
county except Franklin, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami and
Wyandotte. Since 1984 the Kansas chapter has granted wishes for
1,245 children. For more information about Make-A-Wish Kansas
visit www.wishks.org.
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