Subscribe Now

With winter approaching, Bill Kelly was worried about the roof on his Rowley home. Original to the house, the roof was in dire need of replacement before another season of snow and ice damaged it yet further.

Then Coastal Windows and Exteriors stepped in. The Beverly-based exterior remodeling company selected Kelly, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, to receive a new roof, with all materials and labor paid for as part of its Roofs for Heroes Initiative. And on November 8, a crew descended on Kelly’s home, removed the battered old roofing, and replaced it with high-quality materials donated by roofing manufacturer GAF.

“When CWE reached out through the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce and told me I had been selected, I was speechless—a rare thing for anyone who knows me!” says Kelly.

The Roofs for Heroes Initiative has installed four roofs for veterans round Essex County since it began—and fully intends to keep going.

“As our nation struggles to afford housing, heat, food on the table and a roof over one’s head, we started our Roof For Heroes program with the mission: You protect our country, we protect your home,” says Stephanie Vanderbilt, owner of Coastal Windows and Exteriors. “Especially with the forecasted cold and snowy winter ahead, protecting people’s homes is our way of saying thank you to those who serve and have served.”

For Alexander Tilkens, commander at Disabled American Veterans Chapter 84 in Salem, the roof-replacement program is exactly the kind of support veterans need.

“Recognizing the invaluable contributions and sacrifices of our veterans, it is paramount that we, as a community, rally together to serve those who have served us,” he says. “The significance of supporting our veterans extends far beyond mere words of appreciation.”

In addition to Roofs for Heroes, Coastal Windows and Exteriors offers GAF’s Roofs for Troops $750 rebate for all military when they install a GAF roofing system, plus up to 20% off roofing, siding, windows and doors and 0% financing and no payments until 2025, subject to approval.

Established in 2011, Coastal Windows and Exteriors is a local woman-owned and family-run exterior remodeling company. The company has received awards and high rankings from a range of notable organizations and publications including Inc., Qualified Remodeler, and Northshore.

For more information, visit mycoastalwindows.com.