As you know, the Comfort Now Team has been giving away a FREE heater to a person or family with the greatest need and most compelling story in the Atlantic County or Cape May County since we opened in 2014. Over the past 6 years we've been able to provide heat for the holidays to 8 very deserving families, in addition to our other promotions and giveaways. After all the submissions are in, we get together as a team and decide which people or families we feel have the greatest needs after reading all the submissions and going out to meet with the nominees.

Last year, we needed a little help selecting the most deserving family because it would be impossible to help every one of the nominees submitted; so we asked the public to help us select a winner. After all the input from the public last year, we still didn't have a clear choice of whom we should help, so without hesitation and in the true spirit of the holidays, Bob blurts out, "why can't we help more than one family this year?!?" So there you have it, in 2019 we decided to help 2 families get heat for the holidays last winter season!

But this year is not 2019...it's 2020! And we all know what that means...if nothing else, this year's been unpredictable!

As the nominees started rolling in this year, we quickly realized we had more heartbreaking stories than we've ever heard before! This year's giveaway brought in requests to help over 20 families! As we had in years past, we starting contacting these deserving families to try and determine which people were most in need of our services. Well, the stories just kept getting more dire and we realized we needed to help more than just one family again this year! But which one? Internally, our team felt Leon of Galloway had the most compelling story; but how could we not help Dan, Denise, Suzanne or Vicki? It was now up to Bob to choose...of course, he wanted to help every one of them, but that's not possible - or is it?!?

Let's face it, 2020 has been a year most people would choose to soon forget! But we can't say everything about 2020 was bad...can we? Well, as an eternal optimist, I like to try and find the good in every situation. During the pandemic, I learned a TON of new skills! What did I learn do you say?

Let's see, I learned how to use the ZOOM software platform much better, I learned way too much about the crazy lives of people that raise tigers as domestic pets, I learned how to keep my glasses from fogging up when I put a mask over my face (not really, I still haven't master that one) and I learned how to order toilet paper in bulk! That's not true either, I raised three boys so my wife has been buying in bulk for years!

Overall, life throughout 2020 has been challenging for most people; but it's been A LOT more challenging for some more than others. So what can an HVAC company do to help struggling people this holiday season...let's give away another FREE heater to a very deserving family!

Do you know someone who has fallen on hard times and may be in desperate need of a NEW Heater in the Atlantic County or Cape May County area?

A couple of years ago, we had the idea to give away a heater to a deserving family during the holiday season. This small gesture grew into a bit of trend where we starting running this giveaway every year. We've since expanding the giveaway to other contests where we try and help as many people in Atlantic and Cape May Counties as we can. Last year, we had so many great entries that we couldn't help just one family - so we helped TWO - Jennifer of Egg Harbor Township AND Mary Jean of Somers Point! To read the original blog post, go to https://bit.ly/2J8HYfm.

Jennifer Brady (one of our two recipients) and her family would be a 2019 recipient of Comfort Now’s Holiday Heater Giveaway. Look at the smile on Jen's face when we showed up to tell her about getting her FREE heater...

If it's the 11th of November, it MUST be the day our awesome Veterans get a FREE meal from Applebee's right? Well yes, but we're also giving away FREE stuff to show our appreciation for those who have bravely served our country as a member of our United States Military! Last year, we gave away a FREE service call for veterans and their families. Since this small token of appreciation went so well, we're doing it again this year! But first, a little history lesson...

Veterans Day began as “Armistice Day” in November of 1919 which was the first anniversary of the end of World War I. In 1926, Congress passed a resolution outlining an annual observance to honor our military. Nearly 12 years later (in 1938), November 11th was chosen to become a national holiday - now called Veterans Day.

How do we honor our veterans?

Well at Comfort Now, we are offering ALL veterans and the families of active duty military service personnel in the Atlantic County or Cape May County area a coupon for a FREE service call. That's right...I said FREE!

This contest was probably our closest one yet folks! After receiving just over 450 total votes in our Ugliest Heater Contest, it’s time to announce our 2020 WINNER! Our contest began back in late September and during the submission process, we had over a dozen Atlantic County and/or Cape May County residents submit quite a few interesting pictures of some of the ugliest heaters we have ever seen for our 2020 contest!

Although this year's submissions were fantastic, our team had the difficult task of narrowing down the list to select 5 residents of Atlantic County and/or Cape May County as finalists to win a NEW Heater. The finalists were selected from the numerous submissions and then voted on by the public. After a two week long voting process where 458 folks from all across the area entered a vote for their favorite finalist, our 2020 winner narrowly edged out her competition by only 24 votes over the next closet competitor...AND THE WINNER IS...

What an ugly year 2020 has been, am I right? Well, I can't think of a better way to put such an ugly year to bed than to help someone replace their old, ugly heater before it begins to get really cold this winter! And from what the weather people are saying, this year is expected to be a real doozy!

Although 2020 was an unbelievably difficult year, do you know what else I can't believe? I can't believe we've been helping people upgrade their old, ugly and often outdated heating systems to a new, energy efficient HVAC System in our annual Ugliest Heater Contest for almost 4 years already! And it's been an absolute pleasure being able to help great people whenever we can...

Talking about helping great people, we enjoyed helping Monique Korte
(and her sons) of Linwood so much, we are eager to do it again!

Monique and her boys enjoyed the winter of 2019-2020 in complete comfort with a new heating system awarded to her after submitting an entry in our 2019 Ugliest Heater Contest. Once she submitted her entry, she was selected as one of our five finalists; which then went on to the public voting round of the competition. Although it was close, Monique edged out her competition with over 400 total votes to become the public’s choice for a new heating system.

Monique and her family will enjoy their new heating system for many years to come. And we were SO happy to provide this awesome family a new heater just before the cold winter months of 2019 began, that we can't wait to do it again! To read more about last year's winner, go to https://info.iwantcomfortnow.com/blog/ugliest-heater-contest-winner-2019. 

Are you ready to win a new heater before the winter of 2020?

When 2020 started, the team here at Comfort Now had the highest expectations for the new year! The year started off strong; then we were starting to hear rumblings of a pandemic making it's way to the United States. A pandemic? Seriously! With all the amazing advancements in modern medicine, could we really experience a pandemic? Little did we know, it would change the way we live forever!

As our lives began to change, we were told restaurants (and the hospitality industry as a whole) were going to close down. What do you mean "close down"? Does this mean overnight, for the weekend, for a week or two...what? As it turned out, a couple of weeks led into a few months! I personally had no idea how closing this industry (as well as many others) would have such a profound impact our our local area...and it's not over yet!

So what could the Comfort Now Team do to help?

As we began to realize how much our area was impacted by the stay-at-home order associated with the pandemic and the effect it had on our local economy, we decided to help in anyway we could! With that in mind, we've decided to give away TWO NEW Carrier Air Conditioning Units in our Comfort for Our Friends in Hospitality Giveaway. That's right, not ONE...but TWO Air Conditioners!!

So without further delay, here are the TWO WINNERS of our giveaway!

As a resident of the South Jersey Shore area for most of my life, I've come to realize there is nothing my family and I enjoy more than going out to dinner to engage with our friends and neighbors from our local community. I guess this is probably one of the many events I once took for granted before the stay-at-home order closed almost all of the amazing coffee shops, cozy breakfast spots, lunch counters, diners, restaurants and bars in our area. But over the past few months I also began to realize it was more than the great tasting food and the good times I missed...

I realized I missed the people who serve us the food and the drinks just as much!

Over the years, I've come to know my fair share of great people that work in and around the hospitality industry here in Atlantic and Cape May Counties. These people are the foundation of what makes our area what it is! Don't get me wrong, our beaches are beautiful, the casinos are fun and the South Jersey Shore lifestyle is second to none, but it's our local hospitality workers that make our experiences here at the shore special. And some of these great people are really being affected by our recent crisis and might need some help!

At Comfort Now, our team realizes how much our area has been negatively impacted by the stay-at-home order associated with the pandemic and the effect it has had on our local economy...so we'd like to help in anyway we can! With that in mind, we've decided to give away TWO NEW Carrier Air Conditioning Units in our Comfort for Our Friends in Hospitality Giveaway. That's right, not ONE...but TWO Air Conditioners!!

Check Out this short video to learn more about our giveaway...

There's no doubt we are all tired of hearing about or even talking about the Coronavirus Virus! But it's impacted our lives whether we like it or not. Graduates can't take part in a significant rite of passage, you can't just run to the store to go shopping without it being a major undertaking, I can't belly up to to the bar at The Anchorage to enjoy a bite to eat with my wife and shake hands with Joey Mac or Adam, nor can I enjoy the many other rituals I may have taken for granted as part of the life I once lived...

But what's it been like for frontline healthcare/medical workers?

I can't even begin to imagine what it has been like for this amazing group of people. These are the people that take care of us when we get sick! From first responders, to nurses, therapists, technicians, clerical staff, janitorial & maintenance staff, IT staff, food services staff, etc. the list goes on and on. How do you think life has changed for these people during this pandemic? We have a few members of our family who work in the medical field and their stories are just heartbreaking at times...but maybe we can help put their minds at ease a bit if we could help them breathe cleaner air in their homes when they return home after taking care of our fellow community members and friends...maybe you can help them also!

Please take a minute to watch this short video to see what you can do to help...

It's a typical Saturday Morning in early May 2000 something, my wife just got home from the ShopRite in Somers Point. My boys are teenagers and they themselves just got home from crew practice (they row for Mainland & are proud Mustangs). Excited to see all the goodies from the grocery store, they seem to polish off almost a pound of ham and nearly that much cheese. I'm sorry, did I mention they also devoured the whole loaf of bread in this endeavor while drinking almost a gallon of milk? Oh well...this is what life is like raising three teenage boys who are all WELL over 6 feet tall and still growing; so we'll just run back to ShopRite to replenish the groceries they just ate without regard for the work it took to do the shopping! No big deal...right? Or is it...

Fast forward 20+ years...WOW, times are a bit different today! If my wife went to ShopRite today to get the same grocery order, what would her experience be like? Well, after she donned her face mask and put on her surgical gloves, she would have to wait in line outside (6 feet apart of course) to get into the store as the state is currently allowing the store to operate at only 50% of its original capacity. Did I mention the shelves are half full, the other shoppers are avoiding each other like they're afraid and the whole process takes at least twice as long to complete as it used to?

Yes, grocery shopping is much more of a challenge in today's unique and trying times, but what about the food supply workers who are making sure we have the items we need to feed our families? What has life been like for them during these times? Well, I can assure you, it CANNOT be easy! That's why we've decided to offer at least one of them some much needed comfort during these trying times...

During these unique and trying times, the Comfort Now Team wants to select a food supply worker in Atlantic County or Cape May County to receive a NEW Carrier Air Conditioning Unit. The FREE air conditioner will be given to a food supply worker (or his/her family) who has been the most negatively affected by the Coronavirus Pandemic...Is that you or a friend of yours?

Call it caution, concern or sensationalism but you know it’s a hot issue when something can make politics the “also ran” story in this country.

Viruses are a constant that we live with. Some type of flu circulates annually and unfortunately takes tens of thousands of lives. When they identify it by name it, it’s really bad. Over the past 20 years here’s a few of them:

• West Nile
• SARS
• Bird Flu
• Swine Flu
• Ebola
• Zika
• Now Coronavirus
• And, although not a flu or virus, let’s not forget all the news about molds in the home

The truth is, our body comes into contact with
airborne microorganisms on a daily basis!

Of course, some airborne microorganisms are more dangerous than others. The list above is simply a reminder that we've been exposed to some potentially deadly pathogens in recent years.