Ahead of retailer Capitol Lighting’s November-December “Making Lives Brighter” promotion to benefit Habitat for Humanity of South Palm Beach County, employees from all four South Florida lighting showrooms shed their business attire and donned work clothes to pitch in and build a house for a deserving family last week.
During the upcoming two months, Capitol will be collecting lighting fixture donations on behalf of Habitat for Humanity and issuing a 10-percent discount toward any new lighting purchase. In addition, participating customers will receive the appropriate tax deduction from Habitat for Humanity.
Working side-by-side with future homeowners Claretta and Darius Pickett of Delray Beach, Capitol Lighting employees helped make a dream come true for the family. “This is a winning collaboration for everyone involved,” states Eric Lebersfeld, president of Capitol Lighting, which has eight stores in New Jersey and Florida as well as the 1-800-LIGHTING online store. “Customers who donate lighting fixtures get a discount and tax deduction, our employees got to participate in a remarkably rewarding and perhaps life-changing event, the Pickett family gets a new home and Habitat for Humanity gets what we anticipate will be thousands of dollars in lighting for future home projects.”
Lebersfeld says Capitol decided to volunteer to build a new home so that each employee could get a complete understanding of what an amazing organization Habitat for Humanity is. “Habitat has always been one of the most respected charitable organizations providing a viable and tangible solution to those in need of quality housing,” Lebersfeld explains. “Perhaps the need for the organization has never been so profound than during these challenging economic times. The Capitol Lighting family is delighted to be a part of this event not just from a donation point of view, but as actual hands-on participants alongside the future homeowners.”
The mission of Habitat for Humanity South Palm Beach County is to provide simple, decent, affordable housing for low-income families by working in partnership with those families. Individuals are invited to apply for a home and are selected based upon their need for housing, their ability to repay their mortgage, and their ability to work in partnership with Habitat. An applicant’s dream of homeownership becomes a reality because the house is sold to them through a zero interest rate mortgage; vital financial support is provided by individuals, corporations, faith-based organizations, and others in the community; plus the homeowners and volunteers build the home themselves.
What a great partnership! Congtrats