There is currently no cure for this condition, however, Gentrie was recently referred to a group of doctors in Columbus, Ohio.  Gentrie is waiting to take place in an experimental study where she will have a pacemaker placed in her stomach. Because of the experimental nature of this procedure insurance will not cover the costs.  The APX Family Foundation was touched by Gentrie’s story and decided APX Alarm needed to do something to help this little girl. 

On July 15, APX Alarm put on a silent auction and bake sale to help raise money for Gentrie and her family.  The evening was quite a success thanks to the generous donations from APX employees and members of the community.  The auction and bake sale raised close to $6,000.  APX Alarm is matching the amount that was raised.  This makes the total donation to the Hansen family $11,930.12.   A few APX employees were able to meet Gentrie at  the end of the evening, which was a special experience for all those who were there. 

 To read more on Gentrie’s story please visit:

 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700046059/Hundreds-rally-to-help-Gentrie-Hansen-with-hope-money.html

  Habitat for Humanity is an organization committed to helping families have homes.  This organization was started in 1976 as an answer to the poor living conditions in Georgia.  To date Habitat for Humanity has built over 300,000 homes, providing shelter for 90 million people throughout the world.   

APX employees helped frame a home and helped with the landscaping of another.  It was a great opportunity to get involved in the community and give back to those in need.  We had the opportunity to meet the woman who would be moving into the home we framed, it was a wonderful opportunity to be able to interact with those that we were giving our time and efforts to. 

APX Alarm is looking forward to working with Habitat for Humanity in the future to help protect families throughout Utah.

“I felt blessed and humbled to help prepare these meals.  Seeing the before and after pictures of the children all over the world that received the meals was amazing.  I never knew how good it could feel to help,” said APX representative, Jennifer Brezniak.

Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) was founded as a Christian nonprofit in 1987 through the efforts of a Minnesota businessman who felt a calling to help feed the starving children of the world during a humanitarian visit to Honduras. He returned to the Twin Cities (Minnesota) to develop a method of large-scale relief.

In 1989, FMSC connected with food scientists from Cargill and General Mills to develop a nutritional product especially for FMSC to feed starving children. This food product included rice, soy, vegetables, a vegetarian-based chicken flavoring, and a vitamin and mineral mix. Food scientists continue to update the formula.

“I loved seeing the smiles on the faces of the little kids. They were so glad to just have someone to play with,” said APX Alarm Representative, Roger Evershed.

St. John’s mission is to support homeless women with children to advance from a point of crisis to a position of self-sufficiency.  St. John’s Shelter program for women and children is the only shelter program in Sacramento County focused exclusively on women with children.

Since 1985, the program has provided a safe and supportive haven to more than 25,000 displaced women and children

Meals on Wheels personnel also commented how surprised they were with the team and their willingness to donate their time to help out such a project.  In turn, it became a great bonding experience for APX Alarm who appreciated the opportunity to become even more involved with the community and meet such wonderful people.   

Edmonton Meals on Wheels has been serving the elderly and housebound in Edmonton for over 30 years.  They produce up to 400 meals every weekday in their state-of-the-art commercial kitchen and volunteer facility.  Meals are transported from their downtown facility to the depots where volunteers deliver them to those in need.

“They (APX Alarm) were a hit with the ladies,” said United Way Campaign Aide, Pamela Dixon.  “One of the guys, Chris, even played piano before lunch as everyone was coming in. The diners really enjoyed having them.”

The Golden Circle is the only center that provides information, resources, programs, activities and Outreach Social Services for the purpose of enriching independent healthy lifestyles for older adults, their families and caregivers in Red Deer and surrounding communities.

“Giving back to the community is something we wanted to integrate into our summer program,” said APX Alarm, Co-Manager Zak Murray. We sweat and fight next to each other every day.  It was good to see the smiles and service that also brought our office together,”

The Round Rock Area Serving Center carries out a community-wide mission of churches, other organizations and individuals serving human needs in the city of Round Rock, Texas and surrounding areas.  Services provided include a food pantry, Coats for Kids, clothing and furniture vouchers, Computers for Kids and financial assistance for utilities, rent and temporary lodging.

Last year, a total of 44,000 people were assisted at the Serving Center, experiencing a 45 percent increase in the number of households with under-privileged, low-income people and families in-crisis,

“Everyone has been at a point in their life when they couldn’t do something on their own,” said APX Alarm sales representative, Craig Kubie. “Someone had to step in and help. Today it was a privilege to be the one stepping in and helping. When we showed up the manager lit up in anticipation of what we could do to help.”

Roadrunner Food Bank solicits, collects, and transports over 22 million pounds of food yearly.  Food comes from a variety of sources including national and local manufacturers, supermarkets, large food distributors, growers, food brokers and food drives.  We also purchase large quantities of staple items.

 Roadrunner Food Bank distributes the food through a statewide network of over 600 emergency food pantries, group homes, low-income day care centers, shelters, soup kitchens, and five smaller, regional food banks.  In turn, these organizations provide emergency food boxes, group meals, and direct distribution to approximately 240,000 low-income people each year.  Individuals needing food go to the partner agency for food, not the food bank.

“It was really nice to be able to work together as a team while serving the community,” said APX Alarm Houston Sales Manager, Matt Stevenson. “It reminded us what we’re doing in Houston for the summer: trying to protect families and secure their futures.”

His Place Child Center is an early childhood program located in Houston’s East End that started in 1991.  In 2002, the center was selected as one of the original 13 charter centers to participate in the United Way Bright Beginnings Initiative, a program to improve the quality of care for children.

In 2005, they became a nationally accredited center; less than 10% of the centers in the nation are nationally accredited.  One of their priorities is to serve children who are economically and/or educationally disadvantaged.  For the last few years, they have partnered to offer Public Pre-K to those children. 

Over the years, the school has exhibited a proven track record of success for children and has received media coverage in the newspapers as well as television.  Our greatest reward is making a difference in the lives of children.  His Place Child Center is thankful for the help they have received that allows them to empower children for success at school, at home, and in our communities.The painting was done by APX helped to provide an inviting, clean, attractive environment for the children they serve.

The APX Calgary sales team were given the responsibility of placing the luminaries (bags with candles inside) on a hill spelling out the word HOPE for participants of the race.
Luminaries are special candles that are placed in bags and carry the names of cancer survivors and loved ones lost. In a moving ceremony after sunset, luminaries placed around the track are lit In Honour of cancer survivors and In memory of those who have lost the battle against cancer.

“Everyone loved the creativity of the guys and totally appreciated our help,” said APX Calgary SM, Ryan Anderson. “The reps and our technicians had a lot of fun together and enjoyed the experience.”

“It was great seeing all the boys work together and helping out the community,” said APX Alarm Beaumont Sales Manager, Brandon Holmes. 

The Reaud Family Shelter, a 19-room hospitality house on the Baptist Beaumont Hospital campus, is open to people with family members receiving care at any Southeast Texas hospital.  People who have outpatient procedures can stay at the house either before or after their hospital stay if needed.

The shelter will be like no other in our country. Unlike so many other hospitality houses across the nation, this one will have new furnishings and amenities, rather than one which receives left over or damaged furniture that the hospital has discarded.

Twenty members of the Savannah, Georgia sales team joined other Second Harvest supporters by assembling brown bag meal programs for the elderly as part of the company’s “Gives Back” initiative launched last month.   

 “It was great to serve and give back especially with for such worthwhile project like America’s Second Harvest,” said APX Sales Manager, Matt Hinze. 

 The issue of hunger is growing more prevalent in our country as well as in our own neighborhoods. One in every eight Americans is at-risk for hunger and in some Coastal Georgia communities, as many as one in every four people is at-risk for hunger. There are more than 10,600 senior citizens in the Savannah region whose incomes are insufficient to meet their basic needs.

The run sponsored by APX Alarm was a huge success, having raised more than $17,000 and nearly 900 participated.  Many of the participants ran in honor of children and family members that they have lost in the past.  Several of those who participated were from APX Alarm, wearing shirts in honor of Jack Austin Brenchley, to show their support for Shawn Brenchley and his family.

A friend of mine emailed me several weeks earlier inquiring about donations for a school in the Congo that is in desperate need of monetary support, primarily for a few computers. He described the school and students as follows:

The school is an L-shaped building with open windows and doors.  It houses K thru 12th grade students, and is on supplemental electricity from the government so there are times when it’s run by generator.

The students are very proud of what they have in terms of school necessities and live for learning.  The school currently has one extremely old computer for all of them.

When I assured him APX could help in some fashion, he invited me over to deliver the computers to the school personally.  After weeks of Visa approval and malaria shots I was on my way.

It was a trip I won’t soon forget. We are blessed abundantly as Americans, and are even more blessed that we can be a part of helping those with needs.

Kurt Hale

Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake have provided life-enriching services and opportunities to young people for over 36 years.  Their programs and core services reach nearly 9,000 youth members between the ages of 6-18 every year.

The mission of the Boys and Girls Club is to inspire and enable the youth in our communities, especially those who need them the most, by becoming caring and responsible individuals through guidance-oriented adult relationships and engagement in a variety of enriching activities within a safe environment.

Programs also included after-school programs addressing educational achievement, career exploration, drug and alcohol avoidance, health and fitness, gang and violence prevention, cultural exploration, leadership development and community service.