Recently, Amen Air, Inc. and YORK Factory Direct partnered with Building Homes for Heroes during a Welcome Home ceremony in Lutz, FL. for Army Staff Sergeant Mylee Cardenas. Cardenas joined the military following the September 11th terrorist attacks, citing her devastation over what occurred as her inspiration to serve. While deployed in Afghanistan, Cardenas found a lump on her breast, but did not seek medical attention as she did not want to abandon her all-female unit and their mission. Upon her arrival home, she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.

Now, cancer-free, Cardenas is tackling a variety of other missions. She previously worked as a contributing photojournalist for major media outlets. In her role, she returned to war zones to help shed light on the conflicts that affected the areas. Cardenas is a single mother to her 16-year-old daughter, Brianna, and she hopes to adopt more children she met through her former job as a caseworker. Cardenas also is a master’s degree student, public speaker, veteran’s activist, health and fitness coach, model and actor.

To support Cardenas, Johnson Controls and YORK Factory Direct donated a YORK^® heating and cooling system with a Wi-Fi^® enabled YORK touch-screen thermostat. Amen Air, Inc. donated the HVAC installation services for the veteran’s new home.

“I am not sure my words could appropriately express my gratitude to YORK and Amen Air, Inc. for our new heating and cooling system. I wake up every day with peace of mind,” said Army staff sergeant Cardenas. “I am very grateful for their continued support of the veteran community and Building Homes for Heroes.”

Building Homes for Heroes is a national organization that recognizes those who serve in the United States Armed Forces by supporting the needs of severely wounded or disabled soldiers and their families. The organization strives to build or renovate quality homes and donate them, mortgage-free, to injured veterans nationwide.

“We’re grateful to have gotten the opportunity to give back to this well-deserving local veteran and her growing family alongside YORK and Building Homes for Heroes,” said George Maniates, owner and president, Amen Air, Inc. “Mylee Cardenas is a true hero, and we are honored to offer our services for her new home.”

The YORK brand of Johnson Controls has been a proud sponsor of Building Homes for Heroes since 2014. The company has been recognized by US Veterans Magazine as a top veteran-friendly company. Johnson Controls is also committed to hiring veterans and military spouses. Veteran employees are honored to design, engineer and assemble systems that help improve the lives of fellow veterans.

Building Homes for Heroes invites anyone wishing to volunteer or donate to the organization to contact Building Homes for Heroes at info@buildinghomesforheroes.org. To learn more about Building Homes for Heroes www.buildinghomesforheroes.org.

To learn more about Amen Air, Inc., please visit www.amenair.com and follow them on Facebook.

About Building Homes for Heroes

Counting 13 consecutive years of record-setting growth, Building Homes for Heroes® builds and gifts mortgage-free homes, and completes home modifications, for veterans and their families, and provides further services along their road to recovery to help them live a promising and fulfilling life ahead. The organization is strongly committed to rebuilding lives and supporting the brave men and women who were injured while serving the country after September 11, 2001, during the time of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. To learn more about the organization, visit www.buildinghomesforheroes.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn @buildinghomesforheroes and @helpbhh on Twitter.

About Johnson Controls
At Johnson Controls, we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. From optimizing building performance to improving safety and enhancing comfort, we drive the outcomes that matter most. We deliver our promise in industries such as healthcare, education, data centers and manufacturing. With a global team of 105,000 experts in more than 150 countries and over 130 years of innovation, we are the power behind our customers’ mission. Our leading portfolio of building technology and solutions includes some of the most trusted names in the industry, such as Tyco®, York®, Metasys®, Ruskin®, Titus®, Frick®, Penn®, Sabroe®, Simplex®, Ansul® and Grinnell®. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow us @johnsoncontrols on Twitter.