About 600 members belong to the organizations that call the Windham Veterans Center home, and those groups provide vital support to local veterans and the wider community. But like everyone else, the center is facing rising operating costs. To help stabilize expenses, the Windham Veterans Association (WVA), which oversees the facility, is working to install solar panels – and is asking residents and businesses to help make it possible.
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| Windham American Legion Auxiliary Unit 148 will host a yard sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 18 at the Windham Veterans Center with proceeds donated to support installation of solar panels for the facility. COURTESY PHOTO |
“The cost of purchasing the solar panels is equal to our monthly Central Maine Power payment,” said WVA President Tom Theriault. The center currently pays an average of $347 per month at a rate of $0.383 per kilowatt hour. Under a proposal from Cool Blue Solar, the average monthly electric bill over the next 25 years would drop to $55, at a rate of $0.079 per kilowatt hour.
Over 25 years, that would amount to an estimated $197,939 in savings.
“Once the cost of the solar is paid off, we will be self-sufficient,” Theriault said. “We can use the money saved to serve veterans better.”
The project is being funded entirely through donations and fundraising events, but Theriault says that “fundraising seems to have stagnated.”
A GoFundMe page has been created, though it has raised only $250 so far. Donations can be made at gofundme.com/f/support-windham-veterans-mission. Mailings have also been sent to local businesses, and posters have been placed around town.
The American Legion Auxiliary Unit 148 will host a yard sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, at the Windham Veterans Center, 35 Veterans Memorial Drive, behind the Hannaford Supermarket Complex in North Windham Complex. A variety of items will be available, none priced over $20, said ALA member Celeste Kennedy. Doughnuts, hot dogs, drinks, and baked goods will also be sold. All proceeds will support the solar project.
A bean supper fundraiser will follow the same day at 4:30 p.m. also at the Windham Veterans Center.
A collaboration between American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10643, the Windham Veterans Center was founded in the early 1990s and opened in 1999. The Windham Veterans Association was formed as an organization to support the needs of both posts.
The Windham Veterans Center plays a central role in the lives of veterans and community members throughout Greater Windham. It serves as home base for the American Legion Field Allen Post 148, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, American Legion Auxiliary, and Boy Scout Troop 805.
“Some veterans only get out once a week or once a month,” Theriault said. “The Windham Veterans Center provides them with that place to go.”
Services and programs include free Wednesday morning coffee hours; access to a Veterans Service officer, low-cost hall rentals for the public, nonprofits, and veterans, a Veterans Memorial Garden for reflection and remembrance, free use of the hall for Red Cross blood drives, a no-cost veterans cookout each October and more.
Beyond regular programming, the organizations housed at the center frequently step in to help veterans in need – recently assisting with home repairs, purchasing a refrigerator for a veteran, and covering property taxes for another so they could remain in their home.
“The Windham Veterans Association is a nonprofit, and the way we pay our bills is by having bean suppers, renting the hall, and personal donations from members,” Theriault said. “This solar project will make it a lot easier to pay expenses and maintain the building and grounds. It will help ensure that we are here for veterans for the long haul.”
To support the Windham Veterans Center Solar Project, donations can be mailed to WVA, P.O. Box 1776, Windham, ME 04062, (please reference WVA SOLAR).
For tax purposes, WVA is a 509(c)(3) organization.
For more details about the solar project, contact Theriault at 207-405‑8218 or [email protected]. <
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