WEST CHESTER, Pa. - American Air Distributing Inc., a wholesale-distributor of heating and air conditioning equipment, arranged the logistics for employees and contractors to participate in this year’s Salvation Army Food Drive.

American Air Distributing donated its time and set up containers for food donations at its office and distribution center in West Chester. Twenty percent of its customers pick up supplies on site and could donate a can of food to the containers. For the 80 percent of customers who have their supplies delivered to them, the company promised to deliver a container for the food drive to the contractors’ locations and pick it up for delivery to The Salvation Army.

“All contractors have to do is promote or ask customers, coworkers, or other contractors to participate with a can for the food drive. We would take responsibility for everything else,” said Tom Frank, sales manager.

“The food drive held particular appeal for us,” he said. “We and our contractors could rest assured that someone would actually eat meals from the items we collect.”

The idea was to manage the logistics to make community involvement easier for contractors. “Our contractors can make a direct impact on the lives of those in the communities they serve,” said Frank. “We view this as private service, to the public, on behalf of ourselves and our contractors.”

For contractors looking to get involved in their community, Frank encourages them to contact their distributor and suggest a similar model. For information about how to sponsor a contractor food drive, contact Tom Frank at 800-830-0853; tomfrank@americanairdist.com.

Publication date: 11/02/2009