DEXTER, Maine — Heating your home for an entire Maine winter is not an easy task. It might be more challenging this upcoming season as the U.S. government said Wednesday it expects households to see their heating bills jump as much as 54% compared to last winter.
To try and offset those expensive heating bills and keep Mainers warm, the nonprofit Window Dressers has gathered a team of volunteers to make window inserts for the community.
"[Window inserts] are wonderful," Window Dressers local coordinator Lesley Fernow said. "They make your house warmer, they block the wind, they reduce heat loss through the windows."
Fernow is leading the team of volunteers in Dexter who are building 280 window inserts this October. Two-thirds of those who ordered inserts are low-income households and receiving them for free.
“I just wanted to, you know, be part of a community program where you’re helping other people,” first-time volunteer Nancy Massucco said. "To be contributing to somebody else's well-being -- it’s really a great thing. Everyone should volunteer every once in a while.”
Window Dressers is already taking insert orders for next winter. You can place your order at windowdressers.org.
Fernow told NEWS CENTER Maine, low-income customers include, but are not limited to, people who receive local, state, or federal financial support such as LIHEAP, food stamps, or rental assistance."