PERU — Faculty at Dirigo Elementary School decided to forego the traditional secret Santa this year and feed off the magic of the season reflected in their students’ faces and do something to give back to the community who entrust them with their children day in and day out.

“It is truly a magical time of year to be surrounded by our students,” stated school nurse, Erin Wainwright. “We all decided that we needed to do something to give back to our communities who are all so supportive in our efforts here at the school.”

There are three tiny trees decorated in theme; Maine Country Christmas, Winter Wonderland and Polar Express: We Believe!, and they’re all being raffled off to help raise money for a variety of local causes.
Some of the donated items that accompany the trees are handmade clothing and decorations, gift certificates to local shops, including one from L.L. Bean and iTunes, games, stuffed animals, candles, food items and many other great gift items.  

“We wanted to definitely give to the food pantries,” stated committee member, Heather Gray. “We’ll be dividing the funds up between the Dixfield pantry and Servant’s Heart pantry in Peru, we’ve teamed up with Dixfield Discount Fuel to help with an oil delivery to a family in need, and we also want to start a fund here at school to help supply children we know who are in need of a hat, mittens, or other clothing during the school year. We have some kids who come to school without the basic necessities to keep warm.”

Whether you want the tree for yourself or you want to try and win it to gift to someone who would appreciate the Christmas magic, you can get tickets from any faculty member at Dirigo Elementary School during school hours, just ring the bell to gain access to the office, you may join them for the Christmas concert being held tonight and tomorrow night at 6 p.m. or you can contact a teacher after hours. There is also information on the 1st Annual DES Tiny Tree Tournament page on Facebook.

Tickets are being sold for $1 each or a book of six for $5.