Honoring Veterans on Independence Day and Every Day

As we celebrate our country’s independence on July 4th, we honor the courageous men and women dedicated to preserving it. For one special day across the nation, the flag flying, speeches and patriotic music remind us that we live each day in freedom that is unequaled anywhere in the world.  On Independence Day, a grateful nation gives thanks to veterans and active service members in every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces who protect and defend those liberties.

On a more personal note of thanks, quietly and consistently, Homes for Our Troops (HFOT) spends every day working toward the goal of providing specially adapted homes, mortgage-free, to severely injured veterans. For over 10 years this privately-funded charity has committed to helping veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan rebuild their lives by enabling them to focus on recovery instead of paying a mortgage. To date, over 190 homes have been built and awarded to qualifying veterans recovering from such catastrophic injuries as loss of limbs, partial or full paralysis and/or severe traumatic brain injury.

Budget Blinds Supports Homes for Our Troops

Supportive businesses and individuals donate money, building materials, land, time and energy so this needed and important work can continue. Budget Blinds® is proud to be the official window coverings supplier for HFOT.  Along with our trusted manufacturing partner, Springs Window Fashions® that donates the blinds, Budget Blinds has committed to installing faux wood blinds in 40 homes each year for three years, helping veterans and their families on the road to recovery.

Custom faux wood blinds from our Signature Series® product line complete the interior of each home with classic beauty and functionality that complements any style of home décor. These blinds provide complete light and privacy control as well as improved energy efficiency, increasing living comfort and helping minimize expense.

Budget Blinds COO and co-founder, Todd Jackson, shares the company’s commitment to supporting veterans: “The Budget Blinds organization is extremely honored and inspired by the Homes for Our Troops mission to help make a difference in the lives of Veterans. Homes for Our Troops perfectly aligns with Budget Blinds’ commitment to honor U.S. military Veterans, and we are very proud to make this contribution.”

Meet Army Specialist Geoffrey Quevedo

In Afghanistan in 2011, SPC Quevedo and a partner were on foot patrol when he stepped on a pressure-plate improvised explosive device (IED), causing traumatic brain injury and the loss of his left leg and arm. As he was loaded onto an evacuation helicopter, he remembers his Platoon Sergeant saying that in all his years in the military, he’d never seen anyone as bad. SPC Quevedo was 20-years-old and on his first deployment. He has undergone “surgery after surgery” and faces years of ongoing physical therapy. SPC Quevedo likes going to the shooting range and playing soccer, and he’s planning on going to college to become a counselor so he can work with troubled youth. In December, 2014, he married his high school sweetheart, Samantha, and they received his specially adapted HFOT home on June 14, 2015. Both are thrilled with the new home and the freedom it will bring. Samantha shares, “It’s such a blessing to help our family and families like us that struggle.”  SPC Quevedo thanks HFOT for honoring him and the sacrifices that he and other veterans have made and says of the new home, “Homes for Our Troops [gave] us our lives back.”

Tony Richerson, franchise owner of Budget Blinds serving Temecula, did the professional measuring and expert installation of the blinds for SPC Quevedo’s home. Richerson has done several HFOT homes and it’s always a special joy:  “With a few of my family members still deployed I understand the sacrifices these men and women make to protect our freedom. Any opportunity to show support and gratitude to them is an honor.”

Hear SPC Geoffrey Quevado and Samantha share their story by clicking here.

Meet Army Sergeant Brian Roberts

In 2010, on his second deployment to Afghanistan, Army SGT Brian Roberts was in the third armored vehicle of a convoy when they stuck an IED. Trapped in the wreckage, he was pulled from the vehicle and airlifted out. Seven days later he woke up in Walter Reed Medical Center. He suffered catastrophic injuries including loss of his left leg, spinal nerve damage and internal injuries. Father of six, with three kids still at home, he and his wife, Sharon, are excited to receive the specially adapted HFOT home that will allow him to focus on continued healing with the freedom of not having to call on someone and ask for help. The new home will help them live out the family’s motto, “Home is where the love resides, memories are created, friends are always welcome and laughter never ends.” SGT Roberts and Sharon are working together on becoming certified SCUBA divers and launching her ceramics business. SGT Roberts gives special thanks: “Having the country show veterans that they are not forgotten, that they are there for you, to me, that’s patriotism. Any person who does anything for a Vet is a patriot in my eyes.”

Franchise owners of Budget Blinds serving Northern Arizona, Kyle and Lindsay McCain, did the expert measuring and professional installation of the faux wood blinds in SGT Roberts’ home. “We are extremely honored to be a part of this home building project with Homes for Our Troops. We hope Army Sergeant Roberts will enjoy the beauty, convenience and energy efficiency of these new window coverings for many years to come.

Click here to hear SGT Brian Roberts and Sharon tell their story.

If you would like to update your own home with easy-care faux wood blinds and other decorative window coverings, Budget Blinds offers an extensive line of window treatments including shuttersshades and drapes that offer benefits beyond beauty, including energy efficiency, motorization, eco-friendly and child-friendly options. Call 866-879-9730 to schedule a free, in-home consultation or go online at www.budgetblinds.com to find a Style Consultant near you.

To learn about the many ways to support Homes for Our Troops or to make a donation, go to www.hfotusa.org.

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