AHR Expo management has announced that Metropolitan Family Services (MFS), an organization that provides a variety of social services for Chicago- area families in need, has been selected as the recipient of the 2015 AHR Expo Innovation Awards entry fees donation.

A check in the amount of $16,400 will be presented to MFS at the Innovation Awards Presentation which will take place at the 2015 AHR Expo in Chicago on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

For more than 157 years, Metropolitan Family Services has been helping thousands of families cope with various challenges through a variety of human services. The organization will use the donation to buy a boiler and HVACR components for its Southwest Center facility that serves nearly 7,000 children and families annually.

“Every year we select a local not-for-profit organization from the area where the show is being held to receive the entry fees from the AHR Expo Innovation Awards,” said Clay Stevens, president of International Exposition Company (IEC), which produces and manages the AHR Expo. “It is especially meaningful when this donation can be used for such a worthwhile purpose as improving the lives of families in need by using the HVAC technology seen at the show.”

Stevens added that MFS was also the recipient of the 2012 AHR Expo Innovation Award donation when the show was last held in Chicago. The Chicago social services organization used that donation to help upgrade the controls for the rooftop HVAC units and boiler systems at one of their other community centers and saved thousands of dollars on their energy bills.

“We are very grateful for such a generous donation once again from AHR Expo,” said Ricardo Estrada, president and CEO of Metropolitan Family Services. “It not only helps us provide a more comfortable environment for those families we serve, it also allows us to save valuable funds that can now be applied towards other critical services.”

Since the inception of the AHR Expo Innovation Awards competition, more than $140,000 has been donated to not-for-profit organizations. AHR Expo is endorsed by 38 of the leading HVACR industry associations and is co-sponsored by ASHRAE and the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). The Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) is an honorary sponsor.

For more information, visit the show’s website at www.ahrexpo.com.