As an educator this year, I have had the privilege of working with outstanding businesses that care and get involved in children’s education.

The Ski Rack of Bangor financed the acquisition of newspapers for my class. Through their generosity, my second grade students were able to learn more about current events and integrate this medium into their learning. By getting children involved in reading newspapers at a young age, hopefully, they will continue to take an active role in what is happening in the world around them as they grow.

I also had the pleasure of working with Charles Campo, the librarian of the Bangor Daily News, through the SAD 22 Aspirations Program. He helped the children become aware of how a newspaper is put together. He gave them the opportunity to write their own stories and put them into a unique newspaper of their own. Perhaps through his efforts, we have nurtured a student to aspire to become a writer.

Also this year, my students were involved in an At-Home-Read-Aloud-Program that involved parents. As an end-of-the-year celebration, Mr. Paperback was instrumental in helping me acquire an author to speak to the children about the importance of reading and writing. Through their generosity, each child received an autographed book from Stephen Mooser, a children’s author from Bar Harbor. This was an experience that they will hopefully always remember and it will continue to foster their enthusiasm for reading.

The gift of knowledge and the desire to learn more is the best gift we can give to our youth today. Through the involvement of businesses, we can better prepare our youth for their future and the type of world they will be living in.

Again, my thanks go to the Bangor Daily News and Mr. Campo, the Ski Rack, and Mr. Paperback for their help in the education of my second graders. Faye Anderson McGraw School, Hampden