Shires Housing
WindowDressers of Bennington County
WindowDressers began in 2010 in a church in Rockland, Maine and has grown to help many communities improve warmth and comfort of interior spaces, lower heating costs, and reduce carbon dioxide pollution. The 501(c)3 helps communities bring together volunteers of all economic and social situations to produce low-cost insulating window inserts.
A group of dedicated volunteers is working hard to bring the WindowDressers program to our community in Bennington County. We hope to connect our neighbors with quality interior-mounted window inserts for their homes and businesses. This is a volunteer-led effort supported, in part, by Shires Housing, which aims to help all of Bennington County, not solely Shires Housing residents. Want to know more about our efforts? Take a look at this recent Banner article.
For more information or to sign up to volunteer or order window inserts, please call Bruce at (802) 234-3050 or shoot us an email at benningtoncountywd@gmail.com, and follow us on Facebook. You can also find more detailed information about the WindowDressers organization, window inserts, the community build model, and FAQs at windowdressers.org.
ABOUT WINDOW INSERTS
Each insulating window insert is made of a custom-made pine frame wrapped in two layers of tightly-sealed, clear polyolefin film and finished with a compressible foam gasket. The foam allows enough give for the inserts to be easily slid into place in the fall and removed in the spring, while holding firmly enough to provide a tight, friction-based seal that stops drafts and adds two more insulating air spaces between your home and your window. The inserts are installed inside of your existing window with no fasteners required.
Insert-prices are kept exceptionally low (50%-75% cheaper than commercial products) through WindowDressers’ non-profit model of cooperative insert-building. This means that customers contribute time at our local Community Builds. Please visit WindowDressers’ Volunteer page to learn more about this participatory model.
Inserts are custom built to the exact measurements of your windows and are custom-priced. Below are sample prices for 2022. Your exact price will vary. Our Bennington County volunteers have worked hard to raise funds to cover the cost of inserts for anyone for whom cost is a barrier.
HOW TO ORDER INSERTS
We are no longer accepting orders for the 2021 season. If you’re interested in inserts for next year, you can still follow the instructions below.
- INQUIRE by calling (802) 234-3050 or emailing us at benningtoncountywd@gmail.com. We will then contact you to begin the measuring process.
- GET MEASURED by our volunteers who will visit, assess and measure your windows, and give you a quote.
- SIGN UP for shifts at a Community Build held in the November
- PAY for your inserts (special low-income pricing available upon request) > HERE
- PARTICIPATE in the Community Build where the inserts are built
- INSTALL your inserts in your windows
- ENJOY a warmer home and lower heating bills!
WHO WE ARE
We started as a group of volunteers from several municipal energy committees throughout the region and are continuing to grow as we spread the word about this great program.
Regional Support
- Callie Fishburn (Bennington County Regional Commission)
- Allison Strohl (Bennington County Regional Commission)
Core Southshire Volunteers
- Andrea Bacchi (Shaftsbury)
- Bill Christian (North Benn/Shaftsbury)
- Rob Costantino (Shaftsbury)
- Jeannie Jenkins (Bennington)
- Madison Kremer (Bennington)
- Michael Kuser (Bennington)
- Bruce Lierman (Bennington)
- Mary Rogers (North Benn/Shaftsbury)
- Wendy Sharkey (Bennington)
- Nancy Thompson (Bennington)
Core Northshire Volunteers
- Bryan Dalton (Arlington)
- Jeff Dexter (Sunderland)
- Jim Hand (Dorset)
- Becca Herrington (Sunderland)
- John Herrington (Sunderland)
- Andrew McKeever (Sunderland)
- Stephanie Moffett-Hynds (Arlington)
- Jim Salsgiver (Dorset)
- Dixie Zens (Sunderland)
COMMUNITY WORKSHOP DATES & DETAILS
We’ve recently begun planning for our 2022 Community Build, which we anticipate will take place in late mid- to late-October. Stay tuned for updates. If you already know you want window inserts, you can contact us to get ahead of the curve and have your windows measured now.
You can reach us at benningtoncountywd@gmail.com or by calling (802) 234-3050.
