Aaron Hagan, president of the Bridgton-Lakes Region Rotary, left, and the Rev. Zeb Green, Sabbatical minister at the First Congregational Church of Bridgton, right, present to Amanda Brown, Opportunity Alliance Family Advocate, two summer books for each child in the Opportunity Alliance Head Start program. Submitted photo

The First Congregational Church of Bridgton, the Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club, and Bridgton Books are working together to encourage early reading. When school closes for the summer, young children tend to lose some of their gains in learning new words unless their families continue to share books with them. The Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club identified Opportunity Alliance’s Head Start Program to receive some summer books and the First Congregational Church donated two books for each child. Justin and Pam Ward selected the books and provided them at a substantial discount, according to a news release from the rotary club.

Early reading is such a critical factor in determining how well children do in school that the Bridgton Rotary and the First Congregational Church want to continue this collaborative effort of helping children develop a love of reading.

For information on how to contribute, call either Debbie McBride of the First Congregational Church at 207-583-2365 or Joanne Cohn of Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary at 617-306-1956.

Check out upcoming area events!