Diane Alting learned from her grandmother how to give back.
Growing up in Billerica, Massachusetts, Diane watched Mary Roderick advocate tirelessly for those with language or physical barriers to services, particularly people in the Portuguese communities. After Mary helped prevent the closing of a bridge that was critical to those residents, the town of Somerville named it after her—the Mary C. Roderick Bridge.
“Community service is ingrained in me,” Diane explains.
Several decades ago, living in Alton and teaching at the Gilford Elementary School, Diane was volunteering with a local court program, through which she advocated for young people involved in minor infractions. A self-described worker bee, she wanted to give in other ways, too.
She feels grateful to have met Jennifer McGreevy at that time, when Jennifer’s two oldest children became her students. “Jen had nothing but enthusiasm for the Auction, and I asked if there was some way I could participate,” Diane says.
Jen welcomed Diane into the Auction family, and, over the years, Diane has formed fast friends and also deepened her commitment.
In the beginning, back in the years when the Auction took a break mid-day, Diane was the volunteer who greeted bidders picking up their items during that break. “That worked perfectly because it was right after school,” Diane remembers.
The following year, Diane involved her students in community service, asking them to each bring in used books they no longer wanted. As a class project, they made sure the books were in good condition, and then they distributed them to nonprofit organizations that served children and to the Lakes Region Santa Fund.
“I was trying to teach my students to give back,” Diane says. “It was a great lesson for the kids, and they really got into that.”
Diane began to increase the time she was able to give to the Auction as time passed, first offering some evening hours and then, after she retired 10 years ago, serving all day, every day of the annual event.
She has done most every job an Auction elf can do. She has checked bidders out. She’s retrieved items. She logged new items in.
For the past five years, Diane has also served on the Auction’s Distribution Committee, which makes recommendations on which nonprofits are funded each year. A classroom teacher for 27 years—Diane had to shift from specializing in words to numbers.
“I really had to think about the financials. I can teach you to read, but I’m not a bookkeeper,” she says, noting that a member of the committee, Larry Poliquin, was patient and extremely helpful in getting her on board. With Larry’s guidance, Diane learned the grading system—which looks at each organization’s financial standing, grant quality, grant request, and number of low-income children served—and how to form her own recommendations.
“I began to think, ‘Hey, I can do this,’” she says.
Serving on the Distribution Committee takes real dedication. For several months each winter, the team dedicates roughly 50 to 60 hours to the task of determining which nonprofits will receive funding, and at what levels.
“I have learned so much about these organizations, and some I didn’t even know existed,” Diane says. “I have learned a lot about our community.”
Diane was so excited to learn about the Got Literacy Program that she called the organizer and volunteered. She hasn’t been able to help as much as she’d hoped because her husband, Larry, is ill, and she is his caretaker; the two live in Laconia now.
During the 2024 Auction, though, Diane brought in a caregiver for the five days so she could volunteer. “That was really important to me,” she says, noting Larry and her children fully supported her. “It’s not Christmas without the Auction.”
In her career, Diane always put children first. Her world centered around them, and that’s why she believes in the Auction—“Because they put kids before everything else.”
Recently, Diane attended the annual Let’s Connect Distribution event, at which nonprofit leaders network with one another and collect their grant funding. “I love that event,” Diane says. “I made friends. Everybody is happy. Everybody is networking. You look around at all these phenomenal people, doing amazing things in the community. It takes my breath away.”
She adds, “The whole organization is phenomenal. It’s like when I grew up in Massachusetts. People were there to help each other.”
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