A donation worth $100,000 has been made by Kamloops Home Hardware to Thompson Rivers University’s carpentry program.
On Friday, July 21, a brand new 2023 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Cab Chassis 4500 — purchased with support from Zimmer Autosport Ltd. — rolled into TRU’s trades and technology compound, clad in TRU and Home Hardware branding and set to be outfitted with Milwaukee tools.
“I went to TRU myself and had an amazing experience here,” Home Hardware co-owner Ryan Kurzac said, adding he sees the donation as an investment in future trades workers — inquiries for which he gets regularly at Home Hardware.
“Not a day goes by where we don’t have a customer or another contractor come in asking for other contractors, framers, carpenters,”
Kurzic said.
The new van and its array of tools will come in handy during the annual project undertaken by TRU trades students — the Training House, which becomes the annual Y Dream Home, which is constructed in conjunction with the Central Interior chapter of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association.
TRU dean of trades Baldve Pooni said graduates from the past 33 years often look back fondly on the house they helped build.
Carpentry instructor Tim Kasten has been involved in the local construction industry for many years and he says he is encouraged by the amount of support trades programs receive locally.
“The Kurzac family and Home Hardware have been an important part of the home building industry here in Kamloops for many years and this generous donation speaks to their commitment to skilled trades training here in our region,” he said.
“Knowing that we have up-to-date tools and equipment makes it possible to give our students the best training available in B.C.”
