Feel The Love Announcement

Thankful to Be Giving Back: Feel the Love Recap

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This year, Thanksgiving weekend took on a whole new meaning for us at AtlasCare. As part of Lennox International’s 2020 ‘Feel The Love’ community program, our team members volunteered their time to install a brand-new mini-split ductless HVAC system (and more!) to thank Sharon Ahamad, a deserving frontline worker, for her unending devotion to others.

As an overnight Personal Support Worker for seniors at a Burlington facility, Sharon is often the only constant in her patient’s lives. Some of them suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s, so seeing a familiar face can make a big difference in their days—or in this case, nights. When the pandemic hit, Sharon had to choose between this position and a second job she had because of the risk of infection to patients if you worked two facilities. Sharon chose to stay with her overnight position instead of the higher paying, more secure position at a regional hospital, because it was important to her to keep being a constant in the lives of her patients at the seniors’ facility in Burlington.

When someone like Sharon, who refuses to let others down need help, it’s our duty to help them—and that’s exactly what our team did, and we felt so thankful to be doing so that Thanksgiving weekend.

On Saturday morning, AtlasCare (organizers, team members and volunteers) gathered on Ottawa street in Hamilton, Ontario, where Sharon lives. Before we got to work, our president Michael Grochmal, whose energy and smile was contagious even behind his mask, explained that ‘Feel the Love’ was so much bigger than what we were doing here today. More than 250 other contractors throughout North America were doing exactly what we were about to do. He explained that Lennox International, the company that started ‘Feel The Love’ back in 2009, wanted to find a very deserving frontline worker who helped their community this year during COVID. And because AtlasCare is always there when you need us, from helping you with your home comfort or giving back to the community, it was a no-brainer for us to partner with Lennox.

Dylan Parry, a representative from Lennox International, shared his thoughts about how “AtlasCare is the absolute definition of what we want in a partner, and by extension you guys and the amount of effort you put in, and we can’t thank you enough… This is going to be a great day.”

Because of the current COVID restrictions, only a small number of people could work on site at once. Michael made sure to mention the many more team members at AtlasCare who would have loved to volunteer but had to stay home so we were following the province’s guidelines. “We couldn’t do this without the people who actually know how to do the work. This group over here, who are the professionals, who donated their time,” he finished, before introducing the person we were all there for: Sharon Ahamad.

“Thank you,” she said, emotionally. “I really appreciate it. Thank you for being here, to help.” Her nominator and long-time friend, Sharon Mathew, came to support her, as did her neighbours and some of her colleagues from the Seniors’ facility. It was clear that being able to help Sharon, someone who even while struggling herself made it her personal mission to be there for others, was a truly heartwarming occasion not only for our team, but also for everyone else in her life.

Over the course of the day, AtlasCare workers were busy installing new ductless equipment for heating and air conditioning, after which they completely cleaned and serviced the boiler, replacing aged parts, which was the first time her boiler had been serviced in 6 years. Then AtlasCare went over and above by calling in their plumbers to fix all the plumbing issues in her home. This last step wouldn’t have been possible without the generous help of Independent Mechanical Supply in Oakville who donated the plumbing materials.

While giving back to the community definitely filled us with Thanksgiving spirit, the event was made even more festive with the food we were surprised with. Lennox brought in breakfast from Pickle Barrel for the 35 of us, and the Tim Horton’s on 65 Ottawa Street N., Hamilton––which you might know better as the original Tim Horton’s location—generously donated coffee for everyone.

Looking back at all the work everyone did to make this Saturday happen, we realized how big of an undertaking this was. It took over 5 months of preparation for us, as we searched the communities we serve in the GTA for deserving people who made it their mission to help others even in their own times of need. Our customers, the community at large, local politicians, and charities stepped up to the plate and brought forth 13 incredibly worthy nominations, but it was when we met with Sharon Ahamad, visited her home and listened to her story that we knew she was the one we needed to help the most.

Sharon—thank you for all you do for others. We hope that on Thanksgiving weekend, you felt as supported by us as your patients do by, well, you!

To view more behind the scenes footage and CHCH news coverage of the event, visit our recent Instagram post by clicking here.

AtlasCare technicians bringing in a furnace through a house

AtlasCare Feels The Love!

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With everything happening in the world, it is a breath of fresh air to hear about the amazing work Lennox is doing with their Feel The Love Campaign. Their mission is to give back to those who have made it their mission to serve others in their community. They want to play an active role in creating communities that care for one another by sharing a little bit of love with those in need of a helping hand.

AtlasCare is proud to partner with Lennox as they donate brand new HVAC systems to deserving local heroes in our community. The program was founded in 2009 and since then has expanded across the U.S. and into Canada, installing over 1,200 furnaces.

There are 3 key ingredients to the Feel The Love campaign:

  1. Nominations: this requires the community to nominate someone in need that has actively been involved in giving back to their community while also facing their own difficulties
  2. Lennox donates brand new HVAC unit
  3. AtlasCare donates material, time and labour to install the units

A combination of all 3 of these ingredients is what makes the Feel The Love campaign possible.

This campaign means a lot to the team at AtlasCare because we are all about the communities we serve. Without community support, the success of our company would not be possible. As a result, we strive to give back wherever we can. At AtlasCare we also run our Care To Share program, which is a similar community initiative in which our team gives back to the communities that have helped us grow since 1932. As you can see, the community is at the heart of everything we do, which is why when Lennox presented us with this opportunity, it only made sense for us to be a part of this great initiative. We believe in their movement for change and want to support it wholeheartedly.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact throughout the world, affecting global physical and mental health and economic stability, not to mention the impact it has had on our loved ones. Now more than ever we are reminded of the importance of helping others. By joining forces with Lennox, AtlasCare is committed to making a difference. We are committed to working together to support the local heroes and frontline workers that continuously make courageous sacrifices for their communities. Not only are they selflessly putting other’s needs above their own since the pandemic began, but they are also saving the lives of so many.

Hoping to brighten the day and make a difference, Lennox will supply new high-efficiency heating or cooling equipment for selected nominees during Feel The Love Weekend, October 8 – 11, 2020. And the team at AtlasCare will provide the material, time and elbow grease to install these units to the deserving recipients. But we need your help! Without the help of our community, we won’t be able to identify these deserving individuals. This is why we are reaching out to you, to help nominate local heroes.

How Do I Nominate Someone?

Nominate someone in your community you feel is in deserving need of a new HVAC system. If you know someone that selflessly serves the community on a regular basis without looking for anything in return, they may be the perfect nominee. The focus this year is to bring hope and support to medical professionals, essential workers and those on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. We ask that you share their story and why you feel they deserve this gift. The deadline to nominate someone in your community is August 21st, 2020. We encourage individuals across Ontario to nominate deserving local heroes in need of a safer, more comfortable home, especially as people will again begin to spend more time indoors. To nominate a member of your community visit AtlasCare Nomination Form today!
Help us give back by nominating a front line worker in your community. Let’s work together to make the world a better place, one community at a time.

Three people next to each other wearing feel the love shirts

Oakville Awards for Business Excellence

Awarded for Excellence by the Oakville Community!

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We are delighted and privileged to announce that AtlasCare has been awarded the RBC Royal Bank Large Business of the Year Award as part of the Oakville Awards for Business Excellence! On June 22nd at 8:00 PM, Roger and Michael Grochmal accepted this prestigious award on behalf of AtlasCare, in front of online audiences in a virtual awards ceremony showcased live on Facebook. If you were unable to tune in last night, please click here to view the award ceremony. Join with us in celebrating this achievement and recognizing the other businesses showcased.

Organized by the Oakville Chamber of Commerce and The Rotary Club of Oakville, it is truly an honour to be valued by our community. Many of our team members live in Oakville, and this city acts as the home base for our 50 service vehicles and 100 employees who continue to put our customers first.

The RBC Royal Bank Large Business of the Year Award recognizes businesses that have “more than 20 employees and/or primarily serves the provincial, national and international markets and/or generates approximately $10 million or more in revenue annually.” AtlasCare was assessed on our growth, reputation, innovation, investment within the business, and company practices! As many of you know, AtlasCare has been providing HVAC and plumbing services to our customers since 1932. During this time, we have developed relationships as a part of CEO Global Network and as a member of Nexstar, a North American-wide network of 650 residential home service contractors. Paired with our industry-leading best practices, training programs, and the ability to pivot to continue to serve our customers, we have seen exceptional growth. We are thrilled to have been judged on these qualifications, as our sole focus is to provide exceptional service to our community while creating an incredible place that nurtures success and wellbeing.

This award was made possible by the customers and team members have chosen to place their trust in AtlasCare, and we could not be more proud and humbled. Our core belief at AtlasCare is to be “always there when you need us,” and we can say with great pride that this has only been possible because the Oakville community has always been there for us!

We wish to congratulate our fellow award recipients for their incredible work and dedication, as well as their influence in the Oakville community. We are proud to live and work in Oakville and the surrounding area and are looking forward with eager expectation for what is in store.