Corey Davidson, of Elwood, was named the March 2023 recipient of the Peterman Cares program. Davidson received a new donated water heater from Peterman Brothers.
Photo provided by Peterman Bros.
A local residential, heating, cooling and plumbing company is helping sure families facing hardship have essential home services through a new program.
Once a month as part of their Peterman Cares program, Peterman Brothers donates and installs heating, cooling, plumbing, or electrical equipment for someone experiencing unplanned hardship in the Indianapolis area. Peterman Brothers is a Greenwood-based HVAC and plumbing company that services the greater Indianapolis area.
For the last year and half, Peterman has been working to increase their outreach in the community. As they did this, they started to receive a lot of requests from people who were telling them that them, their friend, their neighbor or their family members was in need of a furnace, air conditioner or water heater, but couldn’t afford it, said Erin Anderson, community engagement supervisor for Peterman Brothers.
“After we got a few of those, we realized, ‘OK, something’s up here,’” Anderson said. “Then adding in the fact that people were coming out of COVID, and all of the chaos that created for people’s financial situations, we knew that there were bound to be more people in the communities that we serve facing a similar situation.”
Because of this, the company decided to launch the Peterman Cares program. Through the program, people can nominate themselves or someone else who is in need of a furnace and air conditioner, water heater, plumbing, or electrical service that Peterman services, Anderson said.
Once a recipient is selected, Peterman sends out their experts to determine if the project is something that they can provide. Sometimes people have situations beyond the company’s scope, but so far they’ve been able to provide what people needed, she said.
“(Once) the ball gets rolling from there, the install could happen the very same day even, depending on what services they’re getting,” Anderson said.
Elwood couple Corey and Samantha Davidson were the first beneficiaries of the Peterman Cares program. Their family’s home remodeling project stalled when they faced unexpected medical emergencies in January and February, leaving the family without a reliable water heater, company officials said.
When Anderson called to tell Corey Davidson he was selected as the March Peterman Cares recipient, he was shocked, she said.
“He didn’t know that was a thing. He was just speechless,” Anderson said.
Corey Davidson called the gift a huge surprise, and said it changed his family’s lives. He had never heard of a company doing this before, he said in a statement.
“I don’t know how to put into words how appreciative I am,” Corey Davidson said. “For somebody who’s struggling, even if it’s just temporary, something like this can pick them up and change their trajectory completely.”
Lafayette resident Thomas James was the second Peterman Cares recipient, and crews came out to give him a new air conditioner. James had been struggling with his medical bills after receiving a liver transplant, and getting a new air conditioner was low on the priority list, Anderson said.
“I think the nomination form said that (the old air conditioner) was held together with a Band-Aid and a prayer,” she said.
Getting in touch with James was difficult at first, as he thought it was a scam, Anderson said.
“After I didn’t hear back from him for about 48 hours, I reached out to his neighbor, who’s the one that nominated him, and I’m like, ‘Hey, you let him know that he’s been selected and this is a real thing,’” she said. “But he finally called me back, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I promise this is real. You were nominated.’”
Like the Davidsons, James was surprised by the gift as well.
“It means a lot because … a lot of expenses went into my healthcare, and this is like a gift, a big surprise, a shock,” James said in a video posted by the company. “I’m not the type of person to win something and I did.”
Anderson’s favorite part of the program is seeing how surprised people are when they find out they are recipients of the program. It also allows the company to show they’re serious about giving back to the community, she said.
“I know we’re a pretty large company, and sometimes large companies can seem like these kind of monoliths, monolithic things that don’t really care about their customers, but we really do,” she said.
Peterman Cares also gives people an opportunity to see that there are people in their communities that are in need. The program is a potential resource for them, she said.
No one from Johnson County has been selected as a recipient yet, though it’s a matter of time. The company has a growing list of nominations and more names are submitted all the time, Anderson said.
To learn more about the program and nomination process, go to indianapolis.petermanhvac.com/cares/.
