A New Gloucester age-friendly organization is building window inserts at the New Gloucester AmVets Hall through Friday, Jan. 23.

Building Livability in New Gloucester is an organization, which, according to regional coordinator Julie Fralich, is focused on connecting older adults in the area with opportunities for socialization and resources.

Some of the organization’s previous projects include installing fire alarms and smoke detectors in 40 houses, starting a volunteer ride program for medical visits and, with a grant from the University of Maine, establishing “community connectors” in Gray and New Gloucester to help residents with issues such as signing up for the Medicare Savings Program.

A major concern among seniors in the area, Fralich said, is the cost of heating, particularly for those living in older homes. One way to try to reduce heating costs is through window inserts, insulating homes from extreme temperatures outside and allowing residents to use less heating fuel.

A year ago, Window Dressers, a northern New England-based organization that manufactures window inserts, got in touch with Building Livability about doing a “community build,” in which residents gather together to build some.

Fralich said that last spring, Building Livability began identifying people who want window inserts made, as well as sending out teams to measure the windows where the inserts would go. The organization sent the measurements to Window Dressers, which cut the materials the inserts will be built from. While everyone who requested a window insert was asked to help in the community build, Fralich said there have been plenty of volunteers.

The build will consist of two four-hour shifts per day, one from 8 a.m. to noon, the other from 1 to 5 p.m., with a lunch break in between. Over 100 individuals have signed up to volunteer, with some working the whole week and others for one shift.

Overall, Building Livability expects to make 200 window inserts that will be distributed to the 50 people who signed up, as well as to the AmVets Hall itself. Fralich said that if someone is unable to afford their window insert, they get it for free. This, she said, is the case for around a third of the requests.

On the first day of the build, volunteer Sandy Carder told Lakes Region Now she was there because her mom used to live in an older house without window inserts, and struggled with cold winters. Carder also praised both Building Livability and Window Dressers for their service to the community.

New Gloucester resident Joyce Wotherspoon said she ordered nine inserts and, while she wasn’t participating in the insert building directly due to her shoulders, she did help serve lunch. Meanwhile, Steve Ogden said he came because he had seen a story about Window Dressers on the TV news and thought to himself, “I can do that.”

When asked about what impact the project would have in New Gloucester and beyond, Fralich said the most direct impact would be on those who are getting inserts installed, which will allow them to save 8 gallons of oil each year per insert, saving them money.

“I view it as a great community building opportunity, (in addition to) the impact it’s going to have on the individuals who were able to get the window inserts,” Fralich said.

Those interested in volunteering can sign up online. For help, contact Lauren Jordan at [email protected] or 570-249-4744. The build takes place at AmVets Post 6, 1095 Lewiston Road, in New Gloucester.