BRIDGTON — The Parish Social Ministry program of Catholic Charities Maine is designed to help parishes meet community needs through various trainings and resources. “The ability to adapt our offerings to the unique and changing needs of an area is perhaps our greatest strength,” said Director of Mission Michael Smith.

In the case of St. Joseph’s in Bridgton, the parish was looking for ways to help residents combat the high costs associated with heating their homes for the winter with a long-term solution that would go beyond one season.

Through Catholic Charities, St. Joseph’s was partnered with WindowDressers — a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Maine residents reduce heating costs, fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by minimizing heat loss through windows. The Parish created its own Community Build Program whereby volunteers learned how to create and install window inserts as an inexpensive alternative to window replacement.

With 30 percent of home heat loss through windows alone, inserts reduce home heating fuel use and CO2 emissions simultaneously, a difference the recipients of the inserts could feel immediately. “With these inserts, I don’t feel any draft,” remarked one homeowner.

The program has been so successful, that St. Joseph’s volunteers plan to go out into the community later this spring to do more measuring and build more inserts for distribution in the fall.

Other community groups and congregations are welcome to join St. Joseph’s to help measure and build the window inserts. Interested parties should contact 207-583-2113.

Anyone residing in the area, from Fryeburg to Mechanic Falls, can sign up now to receive inserts at www.WindowDressers.org. Teams will custom-measure windows in the spring and the completed inserts will be available in the fall. 

St. Joseph’s is the fifth parish to participate in a weatherization initiative through CCM’s Parish Social Ministry Program.

FMI: [email protected].