SeDoMoCha Builders Club Miracle Tree Event raises record $10,000-plus to help brighten the holidays
DOVER-FOXCROFT — On Dec. 2-3, as part of the annual Hometown Holidays Celebration, over two dozen decorated trees and accompanying goods were on display at the Mill Event Center. The trees served as more than decorations for the season, but a fundraiser hosted and sponsored by the SeDoMoCha Middle School Builders Club.
Inspired by the Anah Temple Shriners’ Festival of Trees, Builders Club Adviser Heather Whitten said $10,490 was raised through the purchase of raffle tickets that could be placed by the tree or trees of the ticket holder’s choice. The lucky winners were able to walk away with a tree — each was sponsored by an area business or organization — as well as all of the accompanying items on or beneath the tree.
Now in its third year, the $10,490 raised represented a record high for the Builders Club. The funds collected through raffle ticket sales rose by over $4,000 from last year and the $10,490 is about three times as much as the inaugural Miracle Tree Event in 2015.
The fundraiser was created to assist local charities, with an emphasis on helping area families through the winter months. Whitten said money will go toward backpack programs at the SeDoMoCha School and those in the Dexter, Greenville, Guilford and Milo area schools. The backpack programs, which are carried out by local Kiwanis clubs and/or the school systems, enable children to bring home napsacks full of healthy food items for when classes are not in session.
“We will also be donating to the (Dover-Foxcroft Area Food Cupboard) and sponsoring six children from the Kiwanis Christmas Project,” Whitten said, with the Builders Club partnering with the Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis Club to provide recipients with gifts and needed items for the winter.
“We have an additional $500 if something tragic happens within our school system,” Whitten added, such as a house fire.
“It warms my heart to see the outpouring of support I received this year!,” Whitten said. “We have already started planning for next year.”
The sponsored trees were won by the following: Masonic Temple, Amy Connor; Carpe Diem, Dick Dunham; SeDoMoCha School, Melissa Cookson; JD Raymond, Kelli Lunetta; Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis, Katie Talbot; Rowell’s Garage, Dave Dillen; Bangor Savings Bank, Harold Sherman; Bear’s Den, Madison and Makynlee Sands; Dover-Foxcroft Police Department, Maria Wooten; Bob’s Hardware, Kelly Segerson; Save-a-Lot, Cheryl Breton; Shear Design, Karen Cuthbertson; Bob’s Sugarhouse, Kathy Hersey; Steinke & Caruso Dental Care, Jen London;
Thirty-One, Debbie Burrill; Ready Set Grow, Chase Lander; Foxcroft Academy, Angela Clark; Will’s Shop ‘n Save, Donna Peterson; Kamora gift set, Darlene Emery; Subway, Kandi Hartford; Center Theatre, Joyce Phillips; A.E. Robinson, Tom Boone; Mayo Regional Hospital, Heather Whitten; Dover-Foxcroft Historical Society, Nicole Nuite; Dover True Value, Kelly Robinson; Modern Image Salon, Danelle Bozzelli; Maine Highlands Federal Credit Union, Debby Pellergino; and The Mill, Kyla Niland.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
MIRACLE TREE CONTRIBUTIONS — The SeDoMoCha Middle School Builders Club held its third annual Miracle Tree Event on Dec. 2-3 at the Mill Event Center in Dover-Foxcroft, with proceeds from raffle tickets for over two dozen trees sponsored by area businesses and organizations totaling nearly $10,500 to benefit backpacks programs in RSU 68, SAD 4, SAD 41, SAD 46 and Union 60, the Dover-Foxcroft Area Food Cupboard and six children in the Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis Christmas Project sponsored on behalf of the Builders Club. On Dec. 15 the Builders Club presented Miracle Tree Event donations to representatives from the Dexter Sunrise Kiwanis, Dover-Foxcroft Area Food Cupboard, Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis, Moosehead Lake Kiwanis of Greenville, the Guilford-based SAD 4 and Three Rivers Kiwanis of Milo/Brownville.