WindowDressers had the pleasure of speaking with Nancy Detra, the Local Coordinator for the Guilford & Brattleboro Community Build. This will be Nancy’s third year volunteering with WindowDressers as a Local Coordinator. Nancy is a member of her local energy committee and first discovered our program by hearing about what other towns in Vermont are doing in terms of energy efficiency efforts. There are 22 communities in Vermont hosting Community Builds this year. After hearing about other towns hosting a Community Build with WindowDressers Nancy decided to find out what our program was all about. 

We asked Nancy a few questions about why she’s continued to volunteer with WindowDressers and what she enjoys most about it.  

What initially drew you to volunteer for WindowDressers?

“I was so impressed with the mission of WindowDressers not only environmentally but socially too. The fact that people can get free inserts if they really can’t swing it to pay for them as long as they come in and participate. It’s just a combination of great factors that made me want to do it.”

 What is one of your favorite things about volunteering with WindowDressers?

“One thing that has happened is that my husband and I have just acquired a couple of wonderful new friends.”

“I think that WindowDressers provides enough social time to make that a possibility, to make new connections. New connections I think are important and the fact that people of different income levels and of different social standings get together. I think that’s one of the parts of WindowsDressers that I really love. Because we do get sort of set in our little categories in other organizations where we are mostly with people who do things, the way we do things that’s why we’re in the same organization, but WindowDressers brings a lot of different people together.” 

What do you like most about your inserts?

“Because my husband was a contractor, we have a pretty tightly sealed house and in the first year, we didn’t necessarily think that we would want window inserts but now we have a number of them. If you live in an old house, or a house that’s newer but not super well-constructed in terms of weatherization. You can find that a drafty window that once there’s an insert in it, it’s just a whole lot more comfortable to sit near it.”  

“I think it was such a genius thing to think of the idea of interior storm windows. Storm windows that really don’t leak cold air along the edges it’s really a nice tight custom fit.”

Why do you love volunteering with window dressers? 

“I do a lot of volunteer work with different organizations. I love volunteering with WindowDressers because the program is so well defined and managed from the top. I feel as though it’s a really good mission. I’m really interested in trying to do something that benefits our disastrous climate issues right now and WindowDressers is doing something that I really believe in.”

Thank you to Nancy for taking the time to speak with us about her experience as a Local Coordinator for the Guildford & Brattleboro Build. We are lucky to have her on our team and excited for another great Build season with her.

The Guilford & Brattleboro Build takes place Oct. 13th – Oct. 18th, 2023 at Winston Prouty Center 209 Austine Drive, Brattleboro VT 05301.

Click the link to volunteer at this Community Build.

Click this link to see the full list of Community Builds happening this year.