Dear Member Or Friend of the Unitarian Church of Hinsdale

July, 2016

Dear Member or Friend of the Unitarian Church of Hinsdale,

The 2016 Green Home Legacy campaign is under way. We thank those who were able to attend the café meetings in June to get questions answered and to suggest further improvement ideas. For those who missed those meetings, this letter is a summary.

September 25th is an important date. Following the service, there will be a special vote on the Green Home proposals for major renovations. Pending that passage, we will solicit your donation pledge. Please read the specifics in this mailing, plan to attend the vote meeting on September 25, and carefully consider the extent of your ability to participate in this effort.

The last such campaign was in the 1980s. It was a $250,000 project that transformed the church's main entrance, installed the elevator, and remodeled the kitchen and bathrooms. It is hard to imagine our church home without these features!

Our needs this time include:

 Replace the leaking RE roof and install insulation (A special vote prior to September 25 may be called for this $21k cost); repair spots on the church roof.

 Replace aged, energy-inefficient boilers in both buildings.

 Replace windows in RE building from aluminum framed, single paned to vinyl framed, double paned awning style. Repair storm windows on church.

 Install solar panels on RE building, gaining us energy offsets that could match our current electric expenses and be a beacon of our commitment to the seventh principle.

 Install air conditioning in both buildings. These are not window units and not central air. They are quiet, efficient, and controlled room-by-room.

Other suggested upgrades may also include

 LED lights in as many places as possible;

 Motion sensors for lights in bathrooms and other appropriate areas

 Water stations to refill drinking bottles

 Ceiling fans in Joshi auditorium

 Dual flush toilets

Such work is beyond the routine maintenance budgeted for in the annual operating fund.

Perhaps once or twice while you are associated with UCH, a need arises that invites you to be part of leaving a legacy for our future. Exact plans and projected expenses will be presented at the September 25th vote/meeting, but for now, we are working with the ballpark amount of $225,000. The church will meet this goal only with the generous sense of commitment of all of us. Donations are tax-deductible in the year given. Our goal is to have pledges to cover the expenses by the end of 2016, although some of the work will be done in the spring of 2017.

If you have questions, please speak with any of those who have been involved with the research and planning on the Green Home Committee: Dave Lloyd, Benjamin Van Horne, Karen McDowell, Steve Trout, Ron Solberg, Diane Barnes, Julia Beckman, Judy Jeske, and Rev. Pam Rumancik.