The Window Dressers project is an all-volunteer effort which built 131 low-cost window inserts for 14 households and because of your generosity combined with other local donations, was able to give 28 percent of them to people who couldn’t afford them. We’d like to donate even more of them to needy households this year, so we’re beginning to solicit donations for that effort.
Donations made today will be matched by up to $500 from the congregation’s service fund.
Here’s a miniature sample of an insert. These pine-framed, plastic-wrapped inserts create an insulating air barrier between two layers of heat-shrink plastic. They can be removed and stored year after year and are easily repaired. Since 2010, throughout communities in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, they’ve saved more than 3 million gallons of heating oil, preventing 37,000 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, all while homeowners have collectively saved almost $2 million in heating costs.
At $35 to $80 apiece, they cost far less than replacing a leaky window, which many of you probably know, can cost much more. This Old House magazine reported the average cost of replacing a window in 2024 was more than a thousand dollars!
While it’s a little early in the season to tell you how much money the window inserts we built in October are saving people. Some customers report that the inserts are, in fact, eliminating drafts and helping keep formerly cold rooms warmer. And in a couple of instances, people have noticed they also cut down on exterior road noise.
So, if you’d like to donate to our effort, which reaches homeowners and renters throughout the Monadnock region, please give what you can. And, if you are interested in purchasing inserts for your own home or think you’d like to help us in marketing, measuring, or assembling them, please see Jonathan Gourlay or Anne Fischer, or visit the Window Dressers website at windowdressers.org.
