The dozen or so volunteers gathered in a small gymnasium in Brattleboro, Vermont, last Sunday were much more focused on the cold winter ahead than on the sunny fall afternoon. Fortified by homemade soup and hot coffee, the group was busily constructing pine-framed window inserts that will help keep local residents snug once the chill hits. Nancy Detra, a retiree who lives in nearby Guilford, organized the effort as a local coordinator for WindowDressers, a nonprofit grassroots organization based in Maine. Last year, Detra corralled enough volunteers to build 180 of the insulating inserts; this year, she’s hoping they can complete 260 over six days.
