Suppliers Giving Back
With business at a standstill , AAMD Supplier Partners Step Up
BY LIZ CAPONE , TRANE TECHNOLOGIES
As we continue to progress through the pandemic and a return to “ normal ,” I am so grateful for the areas of light we had during a time filled with so much darkness and uncertainty .
On-site partners and management companies alike really had an opportunity and in the spirit of giving back made enormous contributions to our industry ’ s philanthropic umbrella , Apartments Giving Back .
As a supplier partner , I am equally as proud of the efforts our Supplier Partners also made during times that stretched them as small businesses , and still found ways to give back . Here are just a few of the ways your Supplier Partners stepped up to give back .
ParkM , a small start-up company that was happy to do what they could when the pandemic hit . Here are some of things they contributed to our community and our multifamily family .
Any residents affected in any way were given free permits for 6 months and that was extended if needed . Those who reached out with any sort of hardship were granted these free permits with no questions asked . This included those affected by job loss , medical challenges and a need to take care of family members .
The team at ParkM implemented a thank you outreach program for the on-site teams offering gift cards and other gifts to thank them for their sacrifices while working on the front line .
While the pandemic brought so much to a screeching halt , Covid19 didn ’ t stop new legislation threatening our industry and ParkM knew the importance of continuing to support AAMD financially through supplier sponsorships . Most companies took a financial hit during the pandemic but ParkM , realizing the importance of funding to keep the increasing amount of negative legislation from passing , continued to support these very important efforts .
Standard Interiors in Denver , a raving supporter of Family Homestead stepped up in big ways to support the industry and families who rely on the support of the transitional housing provided by Family Homestead .
At the beginning of the pandemic a large majority of the residents housed by Family Homestead lost the jobs that our organization ( Family Homestead ) helped them get . Many of them work in the service industry , restaurants and retail , or at the airport . When the state went into lock-down these families either lost these jobs or had to quit because most of them are single parent households and didn ’ t have a resource for childcare when the schools went to a remote learning platform .
In addition to losing their jobs , most of these families are dependent on public transportation . At the beginning of the pandemic when cleaning and hygiene supplies were in short demand , they couldn ’ t find supplies at the stores near their communities and didn ’ t have the means to travel outward to get them . Family Homestead ’ s stocked supply of personal hygiene and cleaning products were depleted in a week . The families of Family Homestead were instructed to shelter in their homes , stay safe , and supplies they needed to keep their homes and families clean and safe would be found .
Standard Interiors attempted to make a large donation to fill the shelves with supplies but with the restrictions on how many items a person could purchase at one time money wasn ’ t the problem , canvassing the metro area to find enough supplies when you can only buy one item at a time was the largest issue . Jenny Jorgensen put out a call through social media to ask the members of our industry , friends and family for help . She had to get creative because a normal supply drive would not work with office closures and quarantine ! Being a community is hard when we are separated , but the team at Standard Interiors proved it ’ s not impossible ! Additionally , Jenny asked individuals to simply pick up a few extra items when they went to the store for their own supplies . An extra pack of toilet paper , an extra bottle of bleach , diapers etc . ( she gave out a list of needed supplies ). Once they had the items , they let
26 | TRENDS NOV / DEC 2021 www . aamdhq . org