St. Peters Masonic Lodge in Edwardsburg and Greater Niles Area Credit Union Monday afternoon kicked off a Bikes for Books contest to promote reading at Eagle Lake Elementary.
The contest was launched at a special assembly at 3 p.m. March 12.
All third grade students are participating. To enter, each student reads and reflects on 12 books. The completed entry log goes into a hopper for a drawing at the end of the 2011-12 school year.
The Masonic Lodge is providing two bikes as prizes — two for boys and two for girls.
All participants will celebrate with a pizza party at the end of the contest courtesy of Greater Niles Area Credit Union.
The Bikes for Books program has been used nationally with great success in motivating young readers.
Past Master Robert Parrish said, “There is no greater gift you can give a child than the love of a good book.”
This is the second year the lodge has sponsored a Bikes for Books program in Edwardsburg.
Eagle Lake Principal Jim Hendress agreed. “Once the kids see these bikes, they’ll ‘gear up’ their reading. The more kids read, the better they are at reading. We are fortunate at Edwardsburg Schools to have such great support from the community.”