L to R: Nathan Monk of Budget Blinds; Todd Embley of KT Fairglass; window recipient Lee Schultz; James Bennett, who nominated her daughter; and Kerri Mandzuk of KT Fairglass, standing in front of the home as Andrey Danilchuk and Wilhelm Teurer of KT Fairglass install the new window (Image Credit: Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

By Liam Verster

Community Give Back Program

Local companies donate window and covering to Vernon family

Oct 8, 2026 | 3:54 PM

A family home in a Vernon neighbourhood has been upgraded thanks to a program run by local businesses.

Through the Community Give Back Program, KT Fairglass donated and installed a new window at a home in the East Hill neighbourhood.

Lee Schultz, who lives in the home, was nominated for the program by her father, James Bennett, as she is a cancer survivor and mother to daughter Bethany.

“I nominated Lee [for the program] because her daughter is on the autism spectrum,” Bennett explained.

“The house, because it doesn’t have forced air, it has electric heat; this [previous window] was a huge problem in the wintertime.”

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He also said the new window will cut down on outside noise within the home, which would be to the benefit of Lee’s daughter.

“For me it’s all about the comfort and Bethany feeling safe in our home too,” Schultz said.

The install Thursday involved the biggest window on the house, leading into the living room.

“Lee’s been through a lot and doesn’t have the time, the capacity, the money, the ability to get this project done, and so we were super stoked to get the nomination, to hear what she’s been through, to come and meet her. She was really appreciative and just overwhelmed that something like this could actually happen and be completely free,” Todd Embley, owner of KT Fairglass, said.

Budget Blinds has also joined in the program and will be donating window coverings to the homeowner.

“We heard about the Community Give Back project, and we love what they were doing so our sales rep Sheri reached out,” Nathan Monk of Budget Blinds explained.

“We met with Todd and got an idea of what he does, and we aligned closely on his values, and we wanted to be part of something like this. It’s a bigger vision of supporting the community and giving back where we can.”

Embley said the cost to install the new window at the home would be around the $1,000 range, while Monk said the blinds could cost anywhere between $300 to $1,000.

Andrey Danilchuk and Wilhelm Teurer of KT Fairglass install the new window (Image Credit: Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

This was the fifth public install through the Community Give Back program, though there have been many others done anonymously.

“We want it to happen monthly if we can, at minimum,” Embley explained.

“The problem is getting nominations. People in need are not necessarily the first ones that want to step forward and say they need help, so hopefully friends, families, community members can get in touch. They just need to go to ktfairglass.com/community and then fill out the nomination form.”

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by Liam Verster

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