Whirlpool Corporation, Indiana University and Monroe County Habitat for Humanity Build Home with the Kell Family in Ten Days

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Dec 18, 2012, 09:00 ET

BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Dec. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For the third straight year, Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) partnered with Monroe County Habitat for Humanity and Indiana University to build a new home with a local low-income family. Employees, students, alumni and volunteers from the community built the home in partnership with Ashley, Doyle and Hailey Kell, who received the keys to their new home on Oct. 13, prior to IU's Homecoming game against Ohio State University.

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The 10-day blitz build took place next to the home of the IU Alumni Association, the Virgil T. DeVault Alumni Center, from Oct. 4 - 13. After construction, the house was moved to its permanent location at 14th Street and Woodburn Avenue in Bloomington.

"Whirlpool and IU have truly created a lasting legacy in our community through these builds," said Kerry Thomson, executive director and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County. "This will be the third family whose lives are changed forever because of a hand up, not a handout. This critical element of decent, affordable housing puts the Vosekas, Knapp and Kell families on the path to a brighter future, and it is thanks to the generous sponsorship of Whirlpool and the volunteer support of IU."

The Kells have been working for a long time toward their goal of home ownership. Doyle works full time delivering pizzas, while Ashley is a cashier at a grocery store. They have been living in government-supported Crestmont Apartments for the last couple of years.

"It's hard to express just how much this Habitat home, and the sponsorship by IU and Whirlpool means to our family," said Ashley Kell. "We are so blessed to be part of such a supportive community and can't wait to move into our new home."

The build is part of Whirlpool-sponsored Habitat builds taking place throughout the United States in 2012. This year Whirlpool also sponsored homes in Amana, Iowa; Benton Harbor, Mich.; and Clyde, Ohio.

"Being part of this build and seeing how the community rallied together to support a common cause was an amazing experience," said Jim Peters, CFO, NAR Finance, Whirlpool Corporation. "Whirlpool is proud to be part of the Habitat family and to support their efforts to transform the lives of families."

Whirlpool Corporation has been a partner of Habitat for Humanity International for 12 years, supporting Habitat's work in 40 countries and sponsoring more than 100 homes since the partnership began in 1999. In that time, the company has donated a range and ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator to every Habitat home in the U.S. and Canada, totaling more than 140,000 appliances. Whirlpool also supports and participates in Habitat's Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project and is the first corporation to provide on-going donations to Habitat for Humanity ReStore resale outlets, helping to raise an additional $4.6 million for the organization.

For more information, visit http://www.whirlpoolcorp.com/responsibility/building_communities/habitat_for_humanity.aspx.

About Monroe County Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County is a nonprofit housing ministry dedicated to building decent, affordable housing in partnership with those in need in Monroe County, Indiana. Since 1988, this affiliate has built more than 100 homes in partnership with local families. For more information, visit www.monroecountyhabitat.org.

About Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is known internationally for outstanding research, as well as for the quality of its undergraduate and graduate programs. With 42,000 students from more than 125 countries, the campus offers a dynamic academic and cultural experience in a traditional campus environment that includes Big Ten sports and the Little 500 bicycle race. The campus has been called one of the "most wired" campuses in the United States because of its commitment to emerging technologies. For more information, go to http://www.iub.edu.

About the Kelley School of Business
For nearly 90 years -- first in Bloomington and later in Indianapolis, online, and for top companies -- IU's Kelley School of Business has prepared students to lead organizations, start companies, develop new products and services, and shape business knowledge and policy. Its programs are consistently ranked among the best in the nation, its faculty members are internationally recognized for their teaching and thought leadership and businesses worldwide hire its highly qualified graduates. A Kelley education is always innovative and relevant so that students, faculty, and over 92,000 alumni can become even better businesspeople, innovators, and leaders. For more information, go to http://www.kelley.iu.edu/

About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International is a global nonprofit Christian housing organization that seeks to put God's love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope. Since 1976, Habitat has served more than 500,000 families by welcoming people of all races, religions and nationalities to construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. For more information, to donate or to volunteer, please visit www.habitat.org, or follow us at www.facebook.com/habitat or at www.twitter.com/habitat_org or join Habitat's blog community at www.habitat.org/blog.

About Whirlpool Corporation
In more than 12 years of partnership with Habitat for Humanity, Whirlpool Corporation has donated more than 140,000 ranges and ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators to new Habitat homes built in North America, serving 71,000 families. The company has sponsored more than 100 homes around the world and served more than 24,504 families in Europe alone. Additionally, Whirlpool has donated more than 28,000 products to Habitat ReStore resale outlets in the United States, helping to raise over $4.6 million. A proud sponsor of Habitat's Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project since 2003, the value of the company's commitment to Habitat nears $78 million. With active partnerships in 40 countries, Whirlpool has engaged 8,000 employee volunteers and plans to support the work of Habitat around the world through product donations, financial contribution or volunteerism.

SOURCE Whirlpool Corporation