NORWAY — The 10th annual Christmas for Teens Benefit Concert will take place Friday, Dec. 4, at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School auditorium.

"It's our single largest fundraiser to help deserving teens in the Oxford Hills area have Christmas," Jean Delamater said.

Last year the sold-out concert raised more than $4,000 to help 180 economically eligible and homeless teenagers in the Oxford Hills area.

The concert will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are available from chorus members and at Books N Things on Main Street in Norway.

Cynthia Wescott, a veteran musical director, will lead the all-volunteer community chorus. The chorus will be joined by the local high school drama club students plus other individuals and groups who volunteer their talents for the cause.

Delamater said the Christmas for Teens and Christmas for Kids programs are both sponsored by Rightstart, a nonprofit organization established to provide programs and services to needy children in the county. Together, the programs served more than 800 children and teenagers in 2008 alone.

The students who apply for the Christmas for Teens program must be between the ages of 13 and 18 and be full-time students at either the Oxford Hills Middle School or Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, plus meet certain economic criteria. The requirements apply to homeless teens also.

For more information about the concert or Christmas for Teens program call Delamater at 539-4587.

Connie Allen and Gerri Price co-chair the Christmas for Kids program, which serves economically disadvantaged children from birth through age 12.

Donations for either program may be sent to Rightstart at P.O. Box 726, Norway, ME 04268.

ldixon@sunjournal.com