The Alumni Association’s annual event raises nearly $50,000 in its sixth year

By Alivia Lovejoy, STAFF WRITER

Dec. 13, 2024

SANFORD, Maine – The Sanford Alumni Association held their sixth Annual Spree of Trees on Dec. 5-8 at the Memorial Gym, raising nearly $50,000. 

Over the last five years, the Sanford Alumni Association has been able to support and facilitate more than $250,000 in projects, many of which have been at the new high school. 

The event was free admission, free refreshments and creative themed trees. There was something for all ages and interests.

This year there ended up being 118 tree sponsors.The majority of the sponsors were area businesses, but there were also a few families that did a family tree, a few individuals that did a tree in memory of someone, and a college did a tree for the first time this year. 

Visitors bought raffle tickets and dropped them in buckets of trees they hoped to win. On Sunday at noon they closed the doors, collected all the buckets and drew a winner for each tree. They called all the winners and they had until the following afternoon to come get their tree and gifts.

The raffle tickets were $10 for 25 tickets and $20 for 75 tickets. The more tickets purchased, the deeper the discount!

All money they raised from the fundraiser is going to be used to fund projects and school-related initiatives that are not supported by the school budget, according to Mr. Aaron Tremblay of the Alumni Association (and SHS Assistant Principal). 

Tremblay shared they had “tremendous community support for this event,” noting some sponsors that have been participating since the beginning, plus new people continually asking how they can sponsor a tree.

In the four days this event was open, thousands of people visited. They haven’t kept track of the exact number of people but at any day or time, said Tremblay, but if you went to the event you would always see hundreds of visitors. 

Tremblay advises everyone to get involved in this event. They are always looking to add trees to their event. The only cost to put a tree in the event is the money you spent on your tree and the gifts you’ll supply. They are also always looking for volunteers to help sell tickets and set up. If anyone is interested in that you should reach out via Sanford Alumni Facebook page!