American Standard, part of LIXIL, recently completed renovations at Naomi’s Way, a family housing shelter located in New Brunswick, N.J. 

Working in partnership with Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen (CCDOM), who runs this facility, American Standard donated more than $100,000 in bathroom and kitchen fixtures, faucets and labor renovation funds, plus more than 330 hours of employee volunteer painting time to help remodel the building.

“Providing solutions that make life healthier, safer and more comfortable has always been at the core of the LIXIL corporate values,” said Jeannette Long, vice president, marketing communications, at LIXIL Americas. “Naomi’s Way provided us with the perfect opportunity to bring our mission to life, by helping to remodel these apartments and make a difference in the lives of families in need in our local community.”

For more than 30 years, Naomi’s Way has provided transitional housing to single women with children who were previously homeless. The 12-apartment facility is now re-opening with new bathrooms, kitchens, lighting fixtures and outlets, plus a fresh coat of paint in all units and common areas, as permanent housing for persons with special needs related to homelessness, job loss, abuse, addiction, etc.

“Catholic Charities serves the most vulnerable members of our communities, providing them with valuable services that are delivered with dignity and respect, all with the goal of improving their quality of life,” explained Marianne Majewski, executive director of CCDOM, which serves people through more than 100 programs in the N.J. counties of Middlesex, Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren.

“We are delighted and grateful to have American Standard as a partner in this renovation. These upgrades to Naomi’s Way will significantly impact the lives of the residents who will soon call this building “home.” We are able to provide them with beautiful, high quality living spaces that they would not normally have,” Majewski said.

Partnerships for a good cause

Product donations from other building and construction manufacturers assisted in the full upgrade of Naomi’s Way: LED energy-saving light fixtures were supplied by Somerset, N.J.-based Philips Lighting; AFCI outlets, plus plate and outlet covers were provided by Leviton of Melville, N.Y; and paint was furnished by the North Brunswick, N.J. Sherwin Williams store.

Additionally, more than 40 LIXIL employees volunteered roughly 330 hours to paint the facility’s apartments and hallways over a two-week period. Representatives from Philips Lighting also assisted in the painting effort, with a dozen volunteers.

“This generous donation of American Standard plumbing products allows Naomi’s Way to offer attractive, durable and up-to-date apartments for needy families to soon call their own,” stated Rich Matarangelo, facilities maintenance manager at CCDOM. “The new water and energy-efficient plumbing fixtures will not only benefit the residents with optimum performance — we expect to see a reduction in our water and energy costs, as well.”

Each new apartment received these high-performance American Standard products: an elongated Champion PRO toilet, a slip-resistant Princeton Americast bathtub, urban design-inspired Townsend bath and shower faucets, and a Pekoe single-handle high-arc kitchen faucet.

“All of us at American Standard would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Philips Lighting, Leviton, and Sherwin Williams for their generous contributions to this project,” said Long. “This meaningful collaboration between private industry and non-profits will have a deeply positive impact on so many vulnerable members of our community, helping to build a brighter future for everyone.” 

“Becoming involved in this project has been a truly rewarding and humbling experience for our entire organization. It has been a privilege and honor for us to work with the incredible staff at Naomi’s Way and Catholic Charities,” Long concluded.