The 16th annual Warming Up for Christmas Benefit Guitar Concert brought more than 600 people to the Williamson Auditorium in Fairfield on Dec. 2 and raised more than $12,300 for the ShineOnCass Foundation.

Orchestrated by Steve Fotter, a local musician and guitar instructor from Benton, and his wife Linda, the three-hour concert featured 80 students and local talent performing rock, blues, jazz and folk Christmas music. Fotter said it was the largest fundraiser in his concert’s history, which in total has raised well over $100,000 for local charitable organizations, according to a news release from Monica Wilcox Charette of the ShineOnCass Foundation.

Steve Fotter performs at the 16th annual Warming Up for Christmas Benefit Concert held Dec. 2 at the Williamson Auditorium in Fairfield. Contributed photo

Messalonskee High School students, from front to back, Noah Tuttle, Chase Warren and Colby Charette help deliver a roomful of gifts that were donated to the ShineOnCass Foundation benefit Warming Up for Christmas. In addition to concert goers, the school's student council and athletic teams collected items to help fill the 1,700 boxes distributed to children through the Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderer's Christmas Program. Contributed photo

Messalonskee High School students Noah Tuttle, in front, and Chase Warren help deliver gifts collected at the 16th annual Steve Fotter Warming Up for Christmas guitar concert held Dec. 2. The event raised more than $12,300 for the ShineOnCass Foundation, which is supporting the Maine Children's Home's Christmas Program to help provide gifts to disadvantaged kids in Maine. Contributed photo

“We get to raise a lot of money for a great cause, like the ShineOnCass Foundation that supports our community, and my students get to perform before a live audience,” Fotter said, according to the release. “We have tremendous talent here and the concert has become a special tradition to start the holiday season. We continue to be grateful and humbled by the people who support us.”

As part of the benefit concert in honor of Cassidy Charette, the ShineOnCass Foundation organized a collection of gifts for the Maine Children’s Home for Little Wanderer’s Christmas Program, which provides boxes filled with warm clothing and toys for 1,700 financially disadvantaged children in Maine.

More than 200 gifts, including books, pajamas, hats, mittens and toys were collected at the concert and by Messalonskee High School students, who delivered them to the program’s headquarters in Waterville.

The foundation also will gift proceeds from the concert to help purchase items needed to fill all the boxes before Christmas.

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