Do you know someone who could use a new furnace? Or maybe their air conditioner isn’t cooling properly?
Hoekstra Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), a family-owned business in Homewood, is urging community members to nominate a friend, loved one or neighbor for the Feel the Love initiative. After nominations are reviewed, at least one household will receive a free Lennox heating and/or cooling unit installed by Hoekstra HVAC.
“We provide the labor. Lennox provides the parts and equipment,” Hoekstra HVAC co-owner Spencer Hoekstra said, describing who will pay for the heating and/or air conditioning installation.
Lennox, a heating and air conditioning brand, started the nationwide Feel the Love initiative in 2009. Over 435 free installations were made last year as a part of Feel the Love, according to a Lennox press release.
The last day to apply is Aug. 31, and the winners receiving free air conditioning and heating units are set to be announced in September. This is the first year that Hoekstra HVAC is participating in Feel the Love.
Hoekstra said Lennox vets the Feel the Love nominees to ensure they’re legitimate, and afterwards, dealers and installers, including Hoekstra HVAC, review the nominations.
“Where can we do the biggest good?” Hoekstra said, describing Hoekstra HVAC’s part in the nomination process. “We will have to look at how many nominations we get, but we are open to more than one install. We will install whatever equipment they need – air conditioning, furnace or both.”
Hoekstra and Hoekstra HVAC Operations Manager Steve Binner said they currently have nominations for households in Bourbonnais, Lynwood and Richton Park, but none in Homewood or Flossmoor yet.
Hoekstra said that while charitable donations are valuable, he’s proud that his employees will be able to use their hands-on skills to improve the lives of community members.
“As word has spread around the office [about Feel the Love], it’s been really nice,” Hoekstra HVAC Office Manager Sarah Meeks. “All of our employees have come forward saying, ‘Oh, I heard about this. I want to be involved.’”
“It’s great to give back to the community,” Binner said.
“It’s tough to set aside money for a big expense like air conditioning. And I think for a lot of people, heating and cooling come to feel a little bit like a luxury,” Hoekstra said. “They’ve just got other priorities and other things pushing down on them.”
Hoekstra HVAC is at 17907 Dixie Highway in Homewood. They service clients throughout Chicagoland, including Northwest Indiana, management said.
Hoekstra co-owns Hoekstra HVAC with his father, Doug Hoekstra. The business was founded by Hoekstra’s grandfather, Melvin Hoekstra, in 1951.
The Feel the Love nomination form can be found on feelthelove.com. A direct link to the nomination is on Hoekstra HVAC’s Facebook page.
Correction: This story originally misidentified the relationship between the co-owners of Hoekstra HVAC. The information above is correct. The Chronicle apologizes for the error.
