OLD TOWN – How do you get kids into reading and spending time in libraries?

You make it fun, with a few lessons sprinkled in along the way.

That’s what the River Coalition aims to do with some of its programs. The coalition got a boost in that direction recently when it learned it has received a $40,000 grant from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation to continue a partnership with the Old Town Public Library on seven programs for children.

“Young people sometimes start getting away from what a library can mean as a center,” said Micah Robbins, the executive director of the River Coalition. “You don’t just go there to read a book. That’s part of it. It’s also a place to have discussion, feel comfortable in your community.”

This is the second King Foundation grant for the River Coalition, a nonprofit organization that serves the Penobscot River communities of Alton, Bradley, Greenbush, Milford and Old Town. The organization also collaborates with the Penobscot Nation to help serve the Indian Island community.

The coalition aids after-school, mentoring and summer programs for children and families in the area.

The grant will fully fund programs, all of which try to draw children of all ages to libraries for reading and discussion.

Four programs are aimed at high school-age youths.

The literacy-based Compulsive Readers Anonymous program and Bookworms program expose high schoolers to different genres of literature, with each member getting a book which they can keep. The groups meet monthly for a meal and discussion about the book.

“It sounds like a book group, but for kids it also helps them build a library,” Robbins said. “By the end of the year they have nine or 10 new books.”

Bookworms is an all-girls group. Compulsive Readers Anonymous is a co-ed group.

The two other groups for high school-age youths are You Be the Judge and Teen Speak, in which students discuss issues important to them. You Be the Judge, which is based on a book, is a discussion group in which participants talk about and guess how real-life judges ruled in cases.

“The work in the book is just a catalyst for the discussion of bigger issues,” Robbins said. “It’s a safe environment for young people to really discuss issues facing them.”

Teen Speak, a new River Coalition program, originated from You Be the Judge. In those sessions, teens meet with experts to discuss issues such as money management, Internet safety and stress relief.

For younger children, the coalition runs programs such as Camp Discovery in the summer which becomes Club Discovery in the fall. All programs are free of charge.

Tabitha King grew up in Old Town, and a wing of the library there is named in her honor.

“The Kings’ commitment to libraries, literacy, learning and young people is something to be more than admired,” Robbins said.

The King grants usually have a two-year limit, Robbins added, which means that the River Coalition will seek alternate funding sources next year.

Robbins said the coalition, along with The Acadia Hospital and the Partnership for a Healthy Northern Penobscot, is sponsoring an event on May 1 with the Saco-based Project Aware group which focuses on substance abuse prevention and awareness. The group will show “Falling,” a scripted movie which seeks to raise awareness of youth prescription drug abuse, as well as a live stage presentation with Old Town youth.

The events will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Old Town Elementary School.

jbloch@bangordailynews.net

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