Town Pump Supports Summer Reading Programs 

Educators refer to the summer months as the “academically vulnerable summer months.” Often times the children experience what is called the summer slide; where the skills they learned during the school year start to diminish. To combat this, schools and public libraries across the state conduct summer reading programs to help the students retain their reading skills.

In Billings the program is called Reading Rocks and last year Reading Rocks held 45 sessions in six city parks and distributed 3,417 books. The children also receive a snack or meal.

This summer the Bridger Public Library has a 2019 theme of “Space…A Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing.” The program is open to children 3 – 12 and will include the use of space themed books, an inflatable solar system and kits for DIY paper mache telescopes.

The Town Pump Charitable Foundation supports these summer reading programs and programs in Dillon, Big Timber, Havre, Kalispell, Colstrip, Columbia Falls and other communities. The grants to these communities and others supports the mission of the foundation by providing financial support to Montana charitable or governmental organizations with a priority of supporting/meeting basic needs and education for Montana citizens.