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In-Kind Supporter of the Year: Carrier Corp.
In the beginning, in 1995, Carrier Corp. donated a few HVAC units to Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity to install in the homes Habitat was building.
Soon, a partnership was born.
Over 30 years, Carrier has provided Habitat with 736 high-efficiency HVAC systems valued at nearly $5 million and more than $2.1 million in financial contributions. Carrier employees have also helped build 27 homes. That’s more than $7 million in combined product, funding and volunteer support.
“What Carrier gets out of it is, it’s helping their neighbors,” said Christine Rasche, Carrier’s associate director of strategic business development and a Habitat board member. “There are obviously years where we do press around it, we invite people to the panel build, but there have been many years where Carrier’s just out there building, giving the equipment, to help the community that we live and work in. We’re helping the neighborhoods our employees live in. The support for the mission was always there.”
Volunteering in the community is part of the Carrier culture. All Carrier employees receive $10 per hour for time volunteering, and that money goes to any qualified 501(c)(3) of their choice. Attending board meetings, donating blood, running a 5K for charity, planting trees or, of course, building homes with Habitat for Humanity—all of those and more are eligible.
Nicholas Arch, Carrier’s vice president and general manager of North America residential solutions, said building Habitat homes “means a tremendous amount to our employees.”
“It provides us an opportunity to get out of the office and get together as a group … and we use it as kind of team-building opportunities,” he said. “You get away from the office, you get a chance to engage with the community, engage with the homeowner and engage with the teams. It’s been particularly important for us to continue to invest in this way, because we’re getting back just as much as we’re giving out.”
Jim Morris, Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity’s president and CEO, said what Carrier is doing is more than an act of corporate generosity. It’s a model of what’s possible when a mission-driven nonprofit and a purpose-driven corporation form a true partnership.
“Carrier has helped us build more than homes—they’ve helped us build hope, opportunity and stability for families across generations,” Morris said in nominating Carrier for In-Kind Supporter of the Year.
“The true impact of Carrier’s support goes far beyond numbers,” he added. “Their donated systems have lowered energy costs and improved living conditions for hundreds of families across central Indiana. Their financial support has strengthened our capacity to serve more families. And their people—year after year—show up on build sites with sleeves rolled up, ready to work side-by-side with future homeowners.”•
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