Lennox Industries, along with 164 Lennox dealers, completed the installation of 175 new furnaces at no cost for families in need across eight northern states and four provinces in Canada as part of the company’s Heat UP Program. The Heat UP Program, launched in 2010, engages Lennox dealers and employees in a local partnership with their communities to nominate deserving families in need of a helping hand — specifically those needing a new furnace — prior to the start of the cold weather season.

In participating markets, the Heat UP Program invites individuals and local organizations to nominate families or individuals in their communities. Nominees are chosen based on a variety of criteria, including some type of hardship or challenge, and typically include families with military service and involvement in their community. Then, on the first Saturday in October, all participating Lennox dealers install new, high-efficiency Lennox gas furnaces for the selected nominees. Lennox provides the furnaces at no cost, and the dealers and their employees donate their labor and installation materials.

“Lennox dealers are committed to helping people live their healthiest lives,” said Quan Nguyen, general manager of Lennox Industries. “I’m inspired by the progress the Heat UP Program made this year. It’s a testament to the character of our dealers, and I look forward to expanding the reach of our program to more communities in the years to come and making a positive impact on many more families.”

This year, the Heat UP Program was expanded to Colorado and Kansas in the U.S. for the first time, as well as Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan in Canada. Lennox dealers in these markets joined existing participating Lennox dealers in Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin to round out the 2017 program.

“The Heat UP Program gives us an opportunity to take the expertise we have in the HVAC field and give it back to the community,” said Dave Chatmon, district manager at Lennox and the program’s founder. “Since 2010, we’ve been working as neighbors helping neighbors, and introducing the program this year into four provinces in Canada and growing to eight U.S. states is so powerful.”