Earl C. McGraw School of Hampden kindergarten teacher Sara Devine has been unable to work this school year after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
That diagnosis came, according to school secretary Pam Smith, last year, while Sara was on maternity leave after the birth of her second child.
Sara is originally from Machias. Her husband works in their home community and is a Hampden Academy graduate.
At the time of her diagnosis, Sara was a new member of the McGraw School staff and previously had worked as an educational technician at Weatherbee School in Hampden and Smith School in Winterport.
After her diagnosis, “Sara underwent an unsuccessful round of chemotherapy followed by surgery,” Pam said, adding that Sara “will soon complete a second round” of chemotherapy.
The mother’s “future includes possible additional surgery, radiation” and perhaps more chemotherapy treatments, Pam wrote.
Through it all, however, Sara “has maintained a positive attitude and been an inspiration to all who know her,” and she hopes to return to teaching next fall.
With all that Sara and her family have been through and are facing, her fellow staff members, friends and community members have come together to help give the family a little boost with an event they are calling “A Devine Evening” from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at Reeds Brook Middle School, 28A Main Road South in Hampden.
Admission is $6 for adults, $3 for children, with a maximum charge of $20 for a family.
A basket for cards and donations will be available at the door.
The event features a spaghetti supper, raffles for a variety of items, a 50-50 raffle, a silent auction and a live auction, with some lucky bidders receiving live lobsters.
A separate, major raffle, with tickets selling for $1 each, six for $5 or 15 for $10, will conclude that evening and, according to Pam, Boston Red Sox baseball tickets “have been the favorite so far.”
That special raffle includes eight items: two tickets for a May 22 Red Sox game against the Chicago Cubs at Fenway Park “only 15 rows from the field in centerfield,” according to the fundraiser release; a Scentsy Warmer, which uses a low-watt bulb to melt a specifically formulated fragrant wax; a Tastefully Simple Basket with easy-to-prepare foods and gifts; a Hampden Natural Foods Made in Maine basket; a Pampered Chef gift basket; Polaris ski pants in a unisex design; one cord of firewood, split and delivered in the Bangor area; and your choice of any item from the Lia Sophia jewelry product line, up to a $100 value.
Pam reports the benefit also will include a room for free games with prizes for the children, including a beanbag toss, a coloring table and clowns with balloons.
A “treat” walk at $3 a round will be conducted approximately every 15 minutes throughout the evening, and pink ribbons and breast cancer awareness materials also will be available.
Pam and all who are working on this “Devine Evening” hope you join them “for a fun family evening that supports a wonderful family in their battle with cancer.”
For information, call Pam at McGraw School, 862-3830 or 862-5404 or e-mail psmith@sad22.us.
Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; javerill@bangordailynews.com; 990-8288.