Cross Country Home Services Celebrates First Anniversary of Operation Appliance Aid
Ft. Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) July 03, 2013 -- This month Cross Country Home Services, Inc. (CCHS), one of the country’s leading providers of home warranty products and maintenance plans, is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its award-winning OPERATION APPLIANCE AID: Keeping Things Running Smoothly for Our Veterans program. Over the past year, CCHS has donated more than 21 new appliances and helped 11 deserving veterans and their families under the program. Donations were made on or around major military holidays throughout the year, and the program has earned high-level national recognition for its impact.
"We recognize the significant struggles that many veterans face as a result of the disruption caused by active duty or by an injury or disability, and believe that providing a gift in the form of a new appliance or home system can bring an immediate sense of relief and improve their everyday lives," said CCHS President Sandra Finn. "The positive feedback from the community has been overwhelming, and this program is something that our employees have really rallied behind. We are all proud to give back to our country’s great heroes."
Headquartered in Sunrise, Fla. with a customer service center in Anderson, S.C., CCHS has always taken an active part in the communities where they do business. With a mission to provide peace of mind and make home management easier for their customers, CCHS’s leadership team wanted to find a way that they could build on their strength as a company in order to improve the daily lives of veterans and thank them for their service. CCHS leveraged their partnerships with a large network of 40,000 independent service providers and major appliance manufacturers, including GE® and Whirlpool®, and formed a partnership with the United Way of Broward County to launch Operation Appliance Aid in South Florida on July 4, 2012. The first donation of a brand new Whirlpool® washer and dryer, refrigerator and stove went to Pembroke Pines resident Pam Smith, U.S. Army SSG / E-6 who was injured in the line of duty and is a single mother to a 15-year-old daughter and 5-year-old twins, one of whom is autistic. On Veterans Day, the program was expanded to South Carolina with two donations in conjunction with Anderson Interfaith Ministries (AIM).
Since the launch, CCHS has received nominations directly through their website http://www.operationapplianceaid.com and via nonprofit partners. Donations have been made to the following families:
• Arnold Merl, retired N.Y. National Guard; Tamarac, Fla. Received American Standard air conditioning and heating system (August, 2012)
• Donald McEnany, retired U.S. Navy airman and Korean War veteran; Hollywood, Fla. Received hot water heater (October, 2012)
• Harold Futch, retired Marine and Vietnam veteran; Anderson, S.C. Received Whirlpool® refrigerator and dryer (November, 2012)
• John McClesky, retired Army veteran; Anderson S.C. Received Whirlpool® washer and dryer (November, 2012)
• Kasey Knight, retired U.S. Navy veteran; Boynton Beach, Fla. Received GE® oven, stove and dishwasher (December, 2012)
• Scott Gray, retired U.S. Marine Corps veteran; Liberty S.C. Received GE® refrigerator and washing machine (December, 2012)
• Steven Laudicina, retired Army Vietnam veteran; Coral Springs, Fla. Received maintenance on his air conditioning system (February, 2013)
• Curtis Gooding, retired U.S. Army veteran who served during the Korean War; Anderson, S.C. Received new refrigerator, washer, dryer and wheelchair ramp (April, 2013)
• Tim Thacker, retired Army veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division; Anderson, S.C. Received new washer and dryer (April, 2013)
• David Jones, U.S. Navy veteran specializing in surface ship nuclear propulsion; Sunrise, Fla. Received GE® refrigerator (May, 2013)
"Operation Appliance Aid is great -- an unexpected gift. It’s like the Lord just moved in and helped us," said Pam Gooding of Anderson, S.C. Her husband, Curtis, is a retired U.S. Army veteran who served during the Korean War. Gooding, 80, has a serious heart condition and suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. Because of burdensome medical bills, the Goodings had been unable to purchase new appliances and were using a non-standard wheelchair ramp.
"I think Operation Appliance Aid is very nice. It’s beautiful. We want to say ‘thank you’ to Cross Country Home Services for helping us out. I’m a veteran and it’s a great thing you’re doing for the boys," said Arnold Merl, a retired veteran of the N.Y. National Guard (1954 – 1962). Merl is disabled and lives with his wife and two adult children in Sunrise, Fla. His household finances are in critical condition and he had been living without air-conditioning for over one year.
The donation recipients are not the only ones who are praising the program. CCHS received the 2013 Communitas Award in the category of "Making a Difference" for Operation Appliance Aid. The international award recognizes the spirit of communitas – people helping people, and winners are recognized for excellence in community service and corporate social responsibility. In June, CCHS was recognized with a Silver Stevie® Award by the American Business Awards (ABA) for Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year.
To mark the one-year anniversary, Operation Appliance Aid will be making three donations in July: in South Florida in conjunction with Rebuilding Together Broward County; in Anderson with AIM; and in Dallas, Texas with The Senior Source.
"Our goal for the program is to build partnerships around the country in order to help veterans in need," added Finn. "We’ve accomplished so much in our first year, and we’re committed to doing even more in the future."
About Cross Country Home Services
Cross Country Home Services, Inc. (CCHS) is dedicated to making home management easy by offering a full selection of hassle-free, cost-effective home solutions, including warranty products and maintenance plans. Since 1978, the company has built a reputation for excellence and today is one of the nation’s leading providers of these products and services. Consumers can buy home warranties and home maintenance plans directly from CCHS or through select affinity partners in mortgage, banking, insurance, real estate and utilities industries. Products include some of the industry’s best known brands, including TotalProtect Home Warranty, Home Protect Warranty and HMS Home Warranty. The company’s customer care staff is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is dedicated to ensuring the highest level of service. Homeowner needs are quickly resolved through a national network of over 40,000 service providers, the largest in the industry. Headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., CCHS is a member of the Cross Country Group. To learn more about CCHS, please visit http://www.cchs.com.
Jennifer Sullivan, O'DONNELL AGENCY, 561-832-3231, [email protected]
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