Two families to receive free furnace just in time for Christmas

FARMINGTON, N.M. – As we inch closer to winter, the weather is getting a chillier. And that can be tough for New Mexican families that may not have heat in their homes. However, one heating and cooling company isn’t just warming homes ahead of the holidays but also hearts.

Heating homes is what comes naturally for, Michelle Robbins, the president of Robbins Heating and Air Conditioning. So, when her team decided to give back to the Farmington community, one idea was fitting.  

“We had a technician who had an idea. We had a company meeting and asked for input on what types of charitable contributions our team would like to make, and he came up with the idea of the furnace giveaway, and so we just ran with it,” said Robbins. 

So, for the last three years, they’ve asked the community to nominate someone who needs heat.

“We post them on our break room wall and that’s what all these are,” Robbins said. 

And each sheet of paper represents a story. 

“Some of them are single moms or grandparents that can’t afford, or one person that is providing an income for the rest of the family. So there is a lot of need out there that we are trying to fill one furnace at a time,” Robbins said.

But this year, it’s two furnaces at a time.

“We had another supplier reach out to us and offer another furnace,” Robbins added. “Sometimes it’s hard to pair them down to just three finalists and just to one winner, but this year will have two.”

Two furnaces to make two lives a little easier.

“There is a lot of good that comes from that, the winner last year had rheumatoid arthritis, when we walked in the house to do the site evaluation, I mean it was freezing in there,” Robbins noted. “The first thing she said was ‘are you sure there isn’t someone that needs it more than me? I’m okay,’ and it was like ‘no it’s your turn to get warm.’”

Nomination period will close on Wednesday, and the winner will be announced on Thanksgiving Day.