LIVERMORE FALLS – Livermore Falls Middle School students are supporting a new campaign, “Read to Feed,” to raise funds for the Heifer International Project.

Maine’s First Lady Karen Baldacci and Jan Schrock, daughter of the man who initiated the Heifer Project after World War II, were invited to an assembly to motivate and inspire students to get sponsors for their reading. The funds will be added to other money the students have raised for the Heifer Project.

But the baby goats brought in by Anna Sanborn, Heifer After-School group sponsor, stole the show. The two goats cavorted and played for the audience, slipping free of their leashes several times.

Schrock, who was speaking at the time, smiled broadly and said it is the goats that bring hope to many people the Heifer Project has helped. “Goats,” she said, “bring milk and have two, three or even four kids every year.”

That enables the person who has received the goats from the Heifer Project to pass on the gift to someone else in their village. “Passing on the gift is one of the key requirements the Heifer Project sets down when giving aid,” said Schrock.

Baldacci referred to the two goats as she encouraged students to get involved. She said it was great to see that a community with strong connections to farming wants to help others to become self-supporting.

She put out the challenge to the whole student body to become involved with the Read to Feed program. She said she hoped to hear how well the students did with their project, and said she would put the pictures of the students’ activities up when she returned to her office.

The Heifer Group will read to the elementary students as part of the project. Last year the seventh-grade students raised more than $400 for the project.

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