America’s Swimming Pool Company of Panama City is asking for donations to help employees who lost their homes during Hurricane Michael.
ASP HEADQUARTERS – MACON, Ga. – As Florida and its surrounding areas battle one of the strongest storms to hit the Florida panhandle, America’s Swimming Pool Company is doing everything they can to aid their employees affected by the storm. Hurricane Michael was the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the United States. On October 10th, Michael made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. For those in its path, Michael also brought more than $5.18 billion in damage.
ASP – America’s Swimming Pool Company is the is the leading swimming pool service franchise that serves over 257 territories in 21 states across the nation. This devastating storm directly impacted the Panama City franchise. Two of the three employees working for the Panama City location lost their homes and all their belongings. The other employee is also dealing with severe property damage.
“We have created an organizational culture that focuses on compassion and giving back,” said Stewart C. Vernon, Founder and CEO of America’s Swimming Pool Company. “Through the continued support of our franchise family and community, I know we can work together to give ASP employees and their families the extra funds to help get them through this difficult time.”
After providing everything they could for their employees, the owners of the Panama City franchise thought about starting a crowdfunding campaign to help with the necessities. A GoFundMe campaign was created on Tuesday, October 16th by the owners of the Panama City franchise, Nick Carver and Ryan Eiland. The ASP corporate office gave the first donation of $1,000, assisted the Panama City franchise owners with launching the campaign, and helped spread the word. This type of franchisee support helped the owners, so they could focus on community clean up. Within the first week of launching the campaign, over $5,000 has been raised.
“This has been a devastating storm, and it’s hard to believe how people’s lives can change so quickly when disaster strikes,” said Eiland. “We are extremely grateful to have the generosity of our franchise family, support from our community, and to see the kindness from strangers who have given to this campaign.”
Disaster relief efforts align with ASP’s ongoing commitment to the communities where the company has a presence. The safety and well-being of ASP’s franchise owners and employees is the company’s top priority. Since the launch of this crowdfunding initiative, the ASP corporate office will donate and give support to help launch a GoFundMe campaign for any of their franchise locations affected by a natural disaster.
To give to the ASP Help for Hurricane Devastation fund, please visit www.gofundme.com/asp-hurricane-relief