Diane and Brian Johnsen no longer have to choose between paying their mortgage and keeping their Beaverton, Oregon home warm. The retired couple received a complete heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system valued at $16,000 through the Lennox Feel the Love initiative. The unit arrived as a free replacement for their broken system, which a technician deemed too expensive to repair.
The financial strain was acute. Diane held three jobs simultaneously just to maintain their housing costs. When their existing heater failed, the repair quote exceeded what they could reasonably afford. They turned to the Lennox program, which partners with local dealers to donate equipment and installation services to qualifying homeowners and non-profits.
Aviator Heating & Cooling, a local contractor, handled the on-site installation. The package included the new HVAC unit and a fresh thermostat. Brian Johnsen described the reaction to the news to KOIN-TV: “Are you kidding? We were ecstatic.” Diane added that for people in their retirement years, a reliable furnace is a matter of safety, not just comfort.
The Feel the Love program has operated since 2009. Lennox reports that more than 3,100 recipients have received systems through the initiative. In 2025 alone, the company donated 402 units across North America. Aviator Heating & Cooling serves communities in Beaverton, Portland, and parts of south-east Washington, aiming to assist families in need throughout the region.
For the Johnsens, the immediate crisis is resolved. They can now face the winter months without the financial precarity that defined their previous heating costs. The program’s structure—where the manufacturer donates the hardware and the local dealer provides the labor—remains the primary mechanism for delivering these resources to low-income households.