Perfect Air gives back to local families

With the coming of winter, there's more reason than ever to make sure the furnace in your home is ready for what will more than likely be a long and challenging Midwest season.

But in the spirit of giving that is so aligned with the holidays, folks who have their work done by Naperville's Perfect Air Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing will be giving a local Oswego family a chance to survive overwhelming odds.

The company has announced that, effective immediately, every time it performs a Clean & Check heating/cooling/plumbing system tune-up, the company will donate $50 of the $79 fee to an area family facing serious economic hardship.

The new charitable campaign, known as "A Perfect Cause," was launched after company officials learned about the Slezak family. Jim Slezak, the father of seven children, including four by adoption, passed away last year after contracting a rare and debilitating disease. The children's mother, Angela, is battling thyroid cancer and her 5-year-old daughter is epileptic.

Kinsey Ray Parker, 25, vice president of Perfect Air, said the company learned about the Slezaks from 95.9 FM The River and followed up via a link on its Web site.

"We were looking for a family to help with our new not-for-profit group that we have launched and we felt the Slezaks were perfect," Parker said. "We've contacted the family and developed a relationship with them. It took some convincing to make Mrs. Slezak accept that she was worthy. She kept saying there were others that were more in need than she is, but we think this is a perfect family to start our campaign."

Parker said the company is clearly losing money by giving back two-thirds of its fee, but believes the good will and exposure it should give Perfect Air makes the initiative more than worth it.

"This is really snowballing into an awesome thing," said company President Justin Carrol. "As the project grows, we'd like to help as many people as we can. We just want to give back to our community."

Parker said mailers were just issued in the past few days and already the company has raised a couple of hundred dollars. She said A Perfect Cause, which was formally incorporated as a not-for-profit Oct. 5, plans to conduct promotions and fundraisers for each of its recipients for three months before moving on to the next candidate.

But company has no plans to put a limit on its Clean and Check program.

"We are a company that feels that what goes around comes around, and that people, in general, get what they deserve," Parker said. "Here is a woman who has stepped up and adopted four children besides having three of her own. She deserves it, and for us, it just feels right."

Perfect Air has been in business since 1992 and is certified by North American Technician Excellence, making it one of the few NATE quality contractors in the western suburbs. The company is an executive premier member of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and was a finalist for the chamber's 2007 Small Business of the Year Award.

Perfect Air is at 424 Fort Hill Drive, Naperville. Call 630-405-6546 or visit www.perfectairnaperville.com .