Whirlpool and Habitat for Humanity are marking the 25th anniversary of their partnership worldwide.

Whirlpool Community Relations Director Deb O’Connor tells us the company in 1999 decided to make access to safe, resilient, and affordable homes a priority. So, Whirlpool has contributed to all of Habitat’s homebuilding efforts.

“Since 1999, we have donated a range and a refrigerator for every home built,” O’Connor said. “That adds up to over 242,000 products that we’ve donated since then.”

O’Connor says the company has also sponsored homes, contributing about $140 million to Habitat for Humanity in the last 25 years. Plenty of that work has been right in southwest Michigan with Harbor Habitat for Humanity.

“We’re really happy to be able to have some of our employees support by helping to build. We sponsor a house every year and, in general, a lot of our employees have been on the board of directors for Harbor Habitat. So, we’re fully behind the local organization as well as nationally and globally.”

O’Connor says it’s rewarding for employees to work on Habitat homes, noting the people who receive the homes are involved in their construction and have to put in hours of work to qualify. She says Whirlpool and Habitat in 2021 launched the BuildBetter with Whirlpool program, putting more energy efficient appliances into each home they build.

Moving into the future, O’Connor says the company plans to continue supporting Habitat for Humanity, knowing that having safe homes is essential to all communities.