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"Read to Feed"

Farrington Elementary School decided to participate in the Maine "Read to Feed Program." The program was launched at our Monday morning assembly, February 11, 2008. The program ended on Monday, March 31. Mrs. Baldacci, the governor's wife, was present at the assembly that day.

What is Heifer International?

Founded in 1944, Heifer International is a humanitarian assistance organization that works to end world hunger and protect the earth. Through livestock donations, training, and "passing on the gift," Heifer has helped seven million families in more than 125 countries improve their quality of life and move toward greater self-reliance. Heifer helps build strong communities because each project participant agrees to pass on the gift of animal offspring, training or skills to another family in need. Heifer International’s Read to Feed program has been implemented in hundreds of schools across the country and is expected to involve more than 5,000 classrooms nationwide in the coming school year.

To learn more about this reading initiative, please click one of the links below:

Heifer International	Mrs. Baldacci
Farmers Feed the Children (video)	Passing on the Gift (video)

	Mrs. Baldacci, the governor's wife, is very involved with the Read to Feed program. She came to one of our assembles to talk with students about the program and to help us kick it off. She is show in the photograph to the left with Mrs. Crummett and Mrs. Neighoff.
	6th grade teacher, Mrs. Crummett worked very hard to make Farrington's Read to Feed program a big success. Also, Carol Hardmen, from Heiffer International, came to speak to students about the program and volunteered her time reading about it, in various classrooms. Thank you both!
	Seven of Miss Kempton's 4th grade students were the top readers in the school, thereby raising the most money for Heifer International.
	Featured on the CBS news program, 60 Minutes... A young woman named Beatrice Biira, from Africa, was able to go to school in her own community and then further her education in the United States, all because her family received a goat from Heifer International. The goat produced enough milk for her family and extra for the family to sell. That money, made from selling the extra milk, is what made it possible for Beatrice to get an education.