Thanks to the generosity of a member of the Georgia State School Superintendent’s advisory committee, one hundred thousand books have been distributed in four Georgia communities this summer.

Bainbridge is one of those lucky communities; and 134 children from age 3 to 8th grade are the lucky and enthusiastic recipients.

On Friday, between 1 and 2 p.m. children from two Pre-K classes and from the Migrant summer school program, traveled to the Decatur County Schools Support Center where the books were organized and given out according to age groups.

State Superintendent Richard Woods and members of his staff were on hand to oversee the operation.

He described the project as an effort to get more students reading at the appropriate grade level and have them ready for school to begin in the fall.

“We want to give back and be a service organization,” he said. “It’s all about children and preventing the learning slide that takes place in the summer.”

The reading project is done in conjunction with the school’s 21st Century Community Learning Center, as well as in cooperation with the state library association. “It makes good sense for us all to work together and see the impact on the local school system,” he continued.

One student, eight-year-old Mareli, who will be going into the third grade in the fall, happily showed off a book she chose about mammals. Then she found another about science, declaring those were her favorite subjects.

Two local students, Alston Aldridge and Caroline Beach, both serve on the Superintendent Student Advisory Committee. They were joined by Ashton Aldridge, Clark Wiggins and Madison Wiggins, who helped local teachers unload the boxes of books and get ready for the lines of students who eagerly dug through them.