MOUNT DORA - Triangle Elementary School is celebrating an extraordinary act of generosity that began with one teacher’s vision to meet the basic needs of students and culminated in a national celebrity stepping in to purchase items and spread the word on social media, helping to ensure every child receives a holiday gift this year.
Meagan Dewitz, a Triangle Elementary teacher who first joined the school as a senior intern in January 2024, created an online holiday gift wish list for students in early August. The list soon caught the attention of global entrepreneur and philanthropist Paris Hilton, who not only purchased food items and classroom supplies directly from the list but also shared the initiative on her social media page with a video. As a result, donations surged, and a substantial portion of the needed gifts for students were fulfilled.
“I am incredibly grateful for Paris Hilton's kindness,” Dewitz said. “The majority of the help has come from everyday people, strangers from around the world, families, teachers, church members, and communities who simply wanted to make a difference. Their collective kindness is what has fueled this mission from the very beginning, and proves there is so much more kindness in the world we will send our future children into. “
Triangle Elementary Principal Noris Aguayo said their school has been deeply moved by Dewitz’s dedication and the incredible generosity of Hilton and the community.
“Meagan has a tremendous heart for serving,” Aguayo said. “She is always looking for ways to support our students, our families, and even other schools. Watching this journey unfold has been incredibly heart-warming.”
Dewitz has long used online wish lists and DonorsChoose to secure resources for her classroom and to strengthen instruction. Over the past year, her commitment expanded well beyond her own students. Guided by what she describes as a calling to support staff and families, Dewitz set out to provide snacks for students so teachers would no longer need to pay out of pocket, and later developed an ambitious goal: to secure a Christmas gift for every student at Triangle Elementary.
The effort quickly grew. As donations began to arrive, the school was able to establish a student food pantry, which launched in early August. Supplies were so abundant that Dewitz began sharing food with other schools – regardless of county -- to help ensure no child went hungry. On August 13, she arrived on campus with three full shopping carts of food. By August 21, the school had distributed food to 26 families. Five days later, she was receiving so many contributions that she began identifying additional schools in need to help distribute the surplus.
Dewitz continued to partner with the broader community, offering support with campus needs ranging from instructional materials to custodial resources. She secured items that enhanced schoolwide events, including a popcorn machine, a karaoke machine, and prizes for Triangle Elementary’s Manatee Block Party. She also procured hygiene kits for students and, when federal government shutdown concerns heightened in late October, significantly increased her food collection efforts to support affected families.
"This entire journey has truly been a mission that God placed on my heart,” Dewitz said. “What started as a simple wishlist for my classroom to help turn it into a home, a place my students feel safe in, has grown into something far bigger than anything I ever imagined. From the very beginning, I felt God nudging me, reminding me that there were children who were hungry, families who were struggling, and teachers who were quietly sacrificing so their students wouldn’t go without. I knew I couldn’t ignore that calling.”
“For her efforts to be recognized and amplified in such a significant way is truly special,” Aguayo said. “Thanks to her leadership and the generosity of Paris Hilton and community members near and far, our students will experience a joyful holiday season.”
Triangle Elementary School will continue distributing food, essential items, and holiday gifts to students and families in the coming weeks, and Dewitz and her husband have decided to turn their effort into a nonprofit called “Squirrel Around the World” after the holidays.
“So far, we’ve helped schools across Lake, Orange, and Seminole counties, creating, stocking, and maintaining food pantries, providing snacks so teachers don’t have to pay out of pocket, and delivering hygiene kits and essentials,” Dewitz said. “We’ve placed Christmas gifts under trees for students who otherwise would have had nothing to open. Every month, my entire class gets a new chapter book to take home and keep to build a beautiful book library. I was able to raise 620 art kits for every child in my entire school to have a gift under the tree. Next week, I am gifting two intern teachers with a huge cart filled with school supplies to help their classroom be a home when they start teaching in January. And each time God shows us a need, we do our best to meet it. “
Additional purchases from Dewitz's wish list can be purchased at this link: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2SL45PTVH0IAW?ref_=wl_sha
