GE Appliances Partners with Kitchen Possible to Support Chicago Families
46 Families in Pilsen & East Garfield Park Receive Appliances
LOUISVILLE, Ky.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–GE Appliances (GEA), a Haier company, partnered with Chicago nonprofit Kitchen Possible to provide GE Digital Air Fry 7-in-1 Toaster Ovens to 46 households in Chicago’s Pilsen and East Garfield Park neighborhoods as part of GEA’s community engagement investments with nonprofit organizations and community partners who connect people with the resources they need to be successful.
Kitchen Possible teaches weekly cooking lessons to young people ages eight through 12 in underserved Chicago neighborhoods. The mission of Kitchen Possible is to build empowered mindsets in kids through cooking. In each eight-week session, the kids experience powerful life lessons firsthand. Lessons learned include the importance of patience, that it’s ok to ask for help, and how to course-correct when things aren’t going as planned. Each class follows the “5 Steps to Cook Anything” – a model that can be applied outside of the kitchen toward the children’s challenges and goals in life.
As a result of COVID-19, classes were taught virtually, and Kitchen Possible Founder and President Katie Lowman noticed barriers to student participation.
“Our volunteers and instructors recognized not every family had the same resources,” said Lowman. “Seeing children left out, and not able to participate inspired me to reach out to GE Appliances to request appliance donations for those families. The company responded by offering appliances to all of our winter session participants.”
The 7-in-1 Toaster Oven is one of GEA’s new small appliances launched in late 2020. It is a toaster oven, but also functions as a convection oven and air fryer, essentially allowing the children to have a fully functioning oven on their countertops.
“At GE Appliances, we come together to make good things for life through our people, products and the places where we operate,” said Katina Whitlock, GEA senior manager of community engagement. “When we received Katie’s request, we recognized an opportunity to remove barriers and provide equitable resources to every student in the program- this way every child has the same resource to participate. Kitchen Possible uses cooking to not only promote self-efficacy, but also teaches transferrable skills and exposes youth to future career opportunities. That’s an investment in the future of those families and communities we’re honored to support.”
During the pandemic, GEA focused on three guiding principles: protecting the health and safety of employees, delivering for customers, and helping to build stronger communities. In 2020, GEA released the company’s first-ever Corporate Citizenship Impact Report titled, “We Come Together to Make Good Things, for Life,” outlining the company’s goals and demonstrating its progress in five key pillars that reflect the company’s top priorities and serve as the foundation for its citizenship work: Community Engagement; Inclusion & Diversity; Operations Sustainability; Product Sustainability; and Compliance & Ethics.
About GE Appliances
GE Appliances strives to make the world a better place and is committed to leading in the communities where its 14,000 employees live and work. A purpose-rooted and passion-driven organization, GE Appliances believes there is always a better way. Its corporate headquarters is in Louisville, Ky., and it sells products under the Monogram®, Café™, GE Profile™, GE® Appliances, Haier, and Hotpoint brands. Its appliances, which are in half of all U.S. homes., include refrigerators, freezers, cooking products, dishwashers, washers, dryers, air conditioners, water filtration systems, water heaters, wine & beverage centers, and small appliances.
To learn more about GEA’s economic impact, visit www.geappliancesco.com.
Included Media Assets:
- Video Sound Bite from Katie Lowman, Founder/President of Kitchen Possible
- Video of Kitchen Possible students and families picking up donated appliances at Gads Hill Center
- https://vimeo.com/552686077/44e55a141a
Photos:
- Kitchen Possible pick up
- Family picking up GE Toaster Oven
- Family receiving toaster oven
- Student standing in front of toaster oven
- Students receiving instructions from Katie Lowman
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Contacts
Katina Whitlock
Senior Manager, Community Engagement
GE Appliances, a Haier company
[email protected]
M +1 502 262 5705
geappliancesco.com
