Changing a Family’s Lives with New Windows

Centra Windows and Centra Cares are proud to announce our first Alberta charity home renovation – and undoubtedly our most important ever.

The Davis family of Calgary were in dire need of new windows, but not just to improve the efficiency and comfort of their home. They were looking for windows that would improve the life – and lifespan – of their son Jake.

Jake Davis is a very special child. This remarkable young boy suffers from an ERCC1 Deficiency, an exceptionally rare DNA repair disorder. He is the first confirmed case in Canada, and only the third in all of North America. Jake faces many major challenges due to this disorder, with one of the worst being that direct sunlight damages his cells around 20X faster than normal, and his body is then unable to repair itself. He has also been diagnosed with a second condition, predisposing him toward certain types of cancer. Due to his ERCC1 Deficiency, he is not a candidate for radiotherapy or chemotherapy – all his family can do is protect him as best they can.

Despite his hardships, this resilient two-year-old warrior continues to bring joy to the lives of all those around him. The Davis family’s dream was to make Jake safe in his own home. We’re thrilled to say we’ve now made that dream come true, with the help of Cardinal Glass Industries who manufactured the sealed units for this project, and Novatech who provided a high-performance sliding patio door to help protect Jake.

The windows gifted to the Davis family are able to block out 99% of UV A & B radiation, providing Jake with freedom and protection. This is far from our first time providing new, high-performance windows for a family in need, though never have our windows, or anyone’s windows, had such a massive impact.

We’re incredibly grateful to all of our fantastic Employee Owners who made this happen, including the huge team of installers and helpers who gave up their Saturdays to make install day so smooth. We would also like to thank Flores and Pine and their Gracie's Food Truck for the delicious food and great service they provided on the day, as well as Pit Stop Portable Toilet Services for the facilities. It takes a village, and this one truly came together for Jake and his family.

Stay tuned to centra.ca for more coverage of this incredible story, and visit our Centra Cares page to find out more about the work our foundation does.