Cook’s Comfort Systems of Oak Ridge donated a heating and air-conditioning unit to Oak Ridge Nursery School, and workers installed it this month.
The donation, which included the labor of two workers, was valued at about $8,000, said Jawrell Cook, owner of Cook’s Comfort Systems on Union Valley Road in Oak Ridge.
“They need the help,” Cook said of Oak Ridge Nursery School. The pandemic has been difficult for many organizations, Cook said.
He said he had three sons attend Oak Ridge Nursery School more than 20 years ago, and one of his employees has a son at the nursery school now.
“We have a long history of helping local organizations, usually those that help youth,” Cook said. The organizations that Cook’s Comfort Systems has helped have included Boys and Girls Club and CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children), he said.
Lisa Shortridge, Oak Ridge Nursery School director, said Cook’s Comfort Systems had been “beyond generous” in donating the heat and air unit and labor to the school.
“One of the men installing it is actually a dad here as well,” Shortridge said.
Louis Baillargeon is an installer for Cook’s Comfort Systems, and his son Lucas is a student at the school. He said the old heat and air unit at the school had started “acting up.” The heat went out, and the air-conditioning unit was about 20 years old, Baillargeon said. The average unit lasts about 14 years.
Baillargeon and lead installer Bryan Vick installed the new heating and air-conditioning unit on Saturday, December 4. The work was expected to take a few hours.
The new unit is a Trane combined heat and air unit that is more efficient.
Shortridge said Baillargeon has assisted with nursery school maintenance.
“He really helps us out here,” Shortridge said.
Shortridge described both the nursery school and Cook’s as family-oriented businesses.
“We are a nonprofit center and have been serving families and preschool age children since the Manhattan Project,” Shortridge said.
Oak Ridge Nursery School is a nonprofit organization with four classrooms that serve children from 12 months old to 5. The school is located on Robertsville Road, and it will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2022. The school is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Cook’s Comfort Systems has been in business since 1992, and the company serves Oak Ridge and the surrounding area in East Tennessee.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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