Teen readers couldn’t bee any more successful

MIDDLEBORO — Middleboro teens read some books and created some buzz this summer.

The Middleboro Library’s Summer Program ended with 82 teens reading for 2,793 hours and raising $500 for the program’s “Read to Bee the Change’’ sponsor, the Rotary Club of Middleboro.

The money will be used to purchase gifts of honeybees through Heifer International for 16 struggling families.

These gifts, which include bees, hives, and training in beekeeping techniques for families in need, will increase the global honeybee population to support the environment and boost families’ income.

This year was the library’s first time including a challenge sponsor as part of its teen summer reading program, and library staff members report that it was a great success.

Collaborating with the Rotary Club of Middleboro to support Heifer International reflected the reading program’s conservation theme of “Read, Renew, Repeat.”

Teens were asked to “bee" the change for the honeybee population and struggling families simply by reading, and they exceeded their total reading time goal of 2,700 minutes to raise the needed donations.

The “Read to Bee the Change” challenge offered teens the opportunity to look beyond themselves and provided a new way to motivate teens to read over the summer. As a result, more teens registered than last year and logged larger reading amounts than in the past two years.

In addition to reading, teens had the option to complete mental, physical and creative activities to earn virtual tickets towards six grand prize drawings.

Activities ranged from conservation and crafting challenges to outdoor adventure and getting active. Teens completed over 1,300 activities, resulting in the highest participation rate for activity involvement.

Readers who achieved minute milestones were eligible to win reading prizes, and free books and personalized bookplates were awarded as incentives for readers to reach reading benchmarks. Over 70 prize books were awarded to readers throughout the program.

Prizes were funded by the Friends of the Middleboro Public Library, Dairy Queen of Middleboro and TreeTop Adventures of Canton.