The Plymouth Senior Center hosted its annual Festival of Trees on Friday. The center dedicated three rooms of its top floor to the festival and they were finished off with lots of lights and other seasonal decorations.
The main components of the festival were the trees. Each tree ranged from four to five feet tall and the decorations varied depending on the theme of the tree. The trees were made and donated by various groups from the Plymouth local community as well as groups associated with the University including the Writing Center and the Plymouth State University Admissions Office.
All of the trees donated to the festival were up for grabs in the raffle. The raffle tickets started at five dollars and you could get three for twelve dollars. There were hollow posts with signs in front of all of the trees and to enter your ticket into the raffle you just put it in the post in front of the tree you wanted.
The proceeds from the raffle went towards the Operating Staff Endowed Scholarship. This scholarship goes to a New Hampshire state resident. There are three $1000 and two $500 scholarships that go to Plymouth State University students to help invest in their continuing education.
Jen Smith, the Chair of Operating Staff Scholarship Fundraising Committee said, “I thought this would be a good way for me to get involved with the scholarships. Anything we can do to help students is great. We love how much they thank us and appreciate what we do for them.”
Smith also commented on how nice it was to have support from the University, “It’s really good we engage students in the community”.
Enjoying the festivities was first year student Michael King. “It’s a very family friendly and fun time,” he said, “it was interesting to see the various trees and their themes. I wish I had brought some money to enter a ticket into the raffle.”
The Senior Center and the Operating Staff did a wonderful job putting on this festival and raffle. The atmosphere set the perfect mood for the holidays and it’s safe to say that it made the Plymouth community a little brighter.