RANGELEY - The Little Mountain School Inc. has received a surprise boost to help finish remodeling the school by the first of October, President Jenny Brackett-Gagnon said this week.

An unknown woman in Falmouth somehow received an e-mail sent by Brackett-Gagnon to area residents requesting help with the project that began more than a year ago. The woman contacted Brackett-Gagnon and offered to hire and pay a contractor for one day's work on the school, she said.

"It was just random. We can't tell how she got the e-mail," Brackett-Gagnon said.

The school is celebrating its 25th year of providing affordable preschool services from the annex of the Congregational Church.

"We have been part of their mission since day one," she said.

Parents pay a basic tuition and help with regular fundraising for teacher salaries and supplies, Brackett-Gagnon said. The school pays for heating the annex.

For more than a year, parents have been working on gutting the annex, installing new insulation and wiring, building a fire wall and upgrading areas to meet safety regulations.

Help has come from Gary and Jackie Patnode of Rangeley Lakes Builders Supply, IEC Electric and Dallas Hill Plumbing. A total of $1,100 was raised from selling gently used purses; $3,000 was donated by a church member and money was raised from raffling a quilt donated by Pieceful Pine Quilters.

The group has an option for an interest-free loan to help hire someone to finish the project, Brackett-Gagnon said.

"We've done it not just for our kids but the next generations of children.

The future of the preschool is secure," she said.