The Fortin Group presents a donation check to Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice for its first Snow Angel Challenge. Pictured here (from left) are Fortin Group Funeral Director Roger Bouffard, Family Services Manager Matthew Richard, General Manager Kevin Simoneau, with AHCH’s Director of Marketing & Development Sonya Purington and President and CEO Ken Albert.

It would be safe to say that Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice’s Snow Angel Challenge took the area by storm.

During the month of February, the agency challenged people to video or photograph themselves, friends, neighbors, or pets making snow angels, and to post the results to Facebook with the hashtag #AHCHangel. For every post, the Fortin Group donated $5 to support patient care at AHCH for those who otherwise cannot afford it. By months’ end, 722 angels had been made, raising $3,610.

The challenge created a buzz locally and on social media, attracting more than 20,000 video views within the first week. Snow Angels were made across New England and the United States. Craftsbury Academy, a small school in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, had 18 students in grades five and six participate, while “Sand’ Angels” were made on the beaches of Florida and California.

Locally, the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, St. Mary’s Hospital, D’Youville Pavilion, Tri-County Mental Health, The Fortin Group, and Clover Healthcare were just a few of those who posted videos of employees taking the Challenge in unison. An impressive show of force was the effort of St. Dominic Academy, which hosted events that involved all students from Grades K-12.

“It was clear that those who participated in the Challenge enjoyed memorializing a loved one in this unique way,’’ said Sonya Purington, Director of Marketing and Development at AHCH. “We appreciate the generosity of the Fortin Group, as well as the outstanding support across the many communities that we serve.”