WindowDressers is up and running again and Community Build Teams across Maine and Vermont are busy doing the important work of helping to warm homes, save energy and reduce carbon emissions. They are once again out in their communities, reconnecting with friends and neighbors and spreading the word about the benefits of WindowDressers insulating inserts, recruiting participants and volunteers, and raising funds to support our goal to provide 25%-35% of all our inserts to low-income households. This is an important part of our program, and it helps ensure that our energy-saving inserts are accessible to all our neighbors regardless of ability to pay. 

This part of our program is made possible through funding from many different sources and our Local Coordinators are always on the lookout for creative opportunities to partner with community organizations and businesses to raise funds that will go directly to helping neighbors stay warm and comfortable during the winter months.

Our team in Belfast, ME, led by Corliss Davis, recently found one such opportunity by partnering with the Belfast Co-op. Among the Co-op’s core values is boosting local resilience and one of the ways it does this is through their Common Cents program. This incredible program offers a monthly fundraising opportunity that depends entirely on the generosity of local community members who shop at the Co-op. Each month the Common Cents program highlights a different local non-profit and encourages “shoppers to round up the total of their purchases to the nearest dollar, donating their extra change to provide support to” that non-profit.  

During the month of May 2021, Window Dressers Belfast was honored to be the recipient of this wonderful program. Through the extraordinary generosity of the Belfast community and the Co-op, customers rounded up for a total donation of $4,035.41! WOW! This is enough to cover the cost of nearly 100 inserts, or about 14 low-income households in the greater Belfast community. 

All of us at WindowDressers send a hearty THANK YOU to the WindowDressers Belfast team, the Belfast Co-op and members of the greater Belfast community who made this possible! It is this type of community interconnectedness and support that WindowDressers thrives on and strives to foster in its work. The generosity of local businesses and community members makes this work easier, and we could not do it without you. 

The WindowDressers Belfast team will hold their 9th Community Build this year and have been given the use of the Boathouse by the City from November 8 – 24.  COVID-safe protocols will be used.  Please plan to join them for a fun, social, energy-saving event!  If you have any questions or would like to get more involved in Window Dressers, please contact Corliss Davis at 207-930-3562.