Have you noticed anything going on at the Belfast Boathouse recently? From Nov. 5 to Nov. 16, 513 internal storm windows were built and wrapped by over 100 different customers and volunteers from around Waldo County. The sturdy, pine, polyolefin-wrapped inserts will save our customers – whether they are in trailer homes or old Victorians - money on winter fuel. Their homes will be warmer and quieter and their greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels will be reduced significantly. 28% of our customers this year were low-income households who were only asked to make a very small donation for their inserts.

We want to publicly thank all of our wonderful volunteers for a job well done. Four local churches (Belfast United Methodist, St. Francis Roman Catholic, St. Margaret's Episcopal, and the Unitarian-Universalist) have led the way in planning and carrying out what Window Dressers calls a "community build" for four years now.

We could not have accomplished what we did without the amazing support of local businesses, many of whom provided delicious lunches and snacks to keep us energized while we worked! For food donations, we thank Alexia's Pizza, the Back 40 Bakehouse, the Bay Wrap, the Belfast Co-op, Bell the Cat, Daily Soup, Darby's, Eat More Cheese, Moon Bat City Baking Company, and Traci's Diner.

For other support we thank Hannaford Supermarkets (gift card and paper goods), the Sundog Solar Store (cardboard), Waldo County General Hospital (work crew), and the Waldo County Technical Center (deliveries). Special thanks go to the Maine Coastal Regional Reentry Center whose work crews swelled our ranks and provided much needed extra energy! We encourage our customers and volunteers to patronize these businesses and thank them for their support. We also want to express our deep gratitude to the members of the Belfast City Council for allowing us to use the Boathouse again for this project.

Waiting lists for 2016 are already being created, so if you are interested in inserts for yourself, contact Window Dressers in Rockland at 596-3073 or fill out the inquiry form online at windowdressers.org.

The 2015 Belfast Window Dressers Steering Committee includes Corliss Davis, Dean Anderson, Judy and David Beebe, Lynn and Charles Biebel, Mary and Jerry Brand, Cris Hughes, Betsy Reed, Sandy Squire, John Terry, Greg Todd, Sharron Walsh, and Janet Weinberg