PERU — The school year’s final Cubtastic Assembly at Dirigo Elementary School was a big one as 14 youngsters were awarded bicycles and helmets June 11 through the King Hiram Lodge 57 Bikes for Books program.

Secretary Tricia Fletcher led the ceremony, telling students and parents that the Freemasons purchased the bikes, put them together and “they delivered them to us this morning.”

“They’ve given hundreds of bikes to our students over the years for reading because they want to make sure that students at Dirigo Elementary School are reading, reading to learn and have a passion for reading,” Fletcher said. “So we really appreciate them and all their hard work to get us those bikes.”

One boy and one girl from each grade, pre-K to 5th grade, each won a bicycle and helmet. The winners were: pre-K, Kylie LeClerc and Jackson Berthiaume; kindergarden, Kesleigh Boucher and Lincoln Dowd; first grade, Hazel Jackson and Coleman Lloyd; second grade, Raelynn Ferland and James Dowd; third grade, Willow Richardson and Levi Holmquist; fourth grade, Savannah Houghton and Onyx McClellan; and fifth grade, Millie Ferland and Riley Weeks.

Asked how many books he read to win a bike, first grader Coleman Lloyd said, “I forgot,” but acknowledged it was a lot of them. “I have two bikes at home,” he said, but agreed this new one will become his favorite one.

Fourth grader Savannah Houghton said she’s been reading a lot of books to earn the bike, but she has another reason she wanted it: “I wanted the bike to donate to the DDF Toy Drive,” she said.

The DDF (Dixfield Discount Fuel) Toy Drive is an annual holiday charity fundraiser in the Rumford/Dixfield area. Run by a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit, it collects new, unwrapped toys, clothing, and gift cards to benefit hundreds of children in local schools and ease the financial burden for struggling families.

The Masonic Bikes for Books program is a statewide reading initiative sponsored by the Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation and local Masonic lodges. It encourages elementary and middle school students to read by entering their names into a raffle drawing to win a new bicycle and safety helmet.

Local lodges partner with schools and libraries to host the drawings just before the summer break. Funding is often matched by local lodge fundraising.

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