Kohler Partners with Habitat for Humanity to Build Local Home
Kohler Power is partnering with Habitat for Humanity Lakeside to construct a home for a family in Sheboygan, Wis. Hundreds of associates from Kohler’s engines and generators business will be volunteering their time over the next several months to help build the home from the ground up. A Kohler portable generator was also donated, which Habitat for Humanity can utilize on this jobsite as well as for future projects.
“We’re empowering our associates to come together to make a difference in the greater community,” said Tom Cromwell, group president – power. “Building this house is an exciting opportunity to help make a positive impact in the lives of the homeowners as well as in the community that many of our associates call home.”
Contrary to common belief, Habitat for Humanity does not give away free homes. Homeowners are required to invest their time and their sweat in the building of the home and, in return, they are offered a mortgage at zero percent interest. For those truly wanting to reach the American dream of home ownership, Habitat provides a pathway towards that goal. The cost of building the homes is borne by local companies and labor is volunteered by members of the greater community.
“A Habitat for Humanity home is a doorway to the community…it opens two ways,” said Jon Hoffman, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Lakeside. “Our homeowners can proudly cross the threshold into a home that they can call their own and – in the other direction – the door opens to a community of hardworking volunteers who graciously stepped in to offer their support.”
Habitat for Humanity Lakeside is part of a global, nonprofit housing organization dedicated to eliminating substandard housing through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. Habitat for Humanity was founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all.
Kohler’s history in the power business dates back to 1920. Today, the company manufactures a full array of gasoline, diesel and gaseous-fueled engines as well as complete power systems, including generators (portable, residential, industrial, and marine), automatic transfer switches, switchgear, monitoring controls, and accessories for emergency, prime power and energy-management applications worldwide.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.