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Reading Room Renovation

Watchung Hills Elks members Candace and Adam Benzel are accepting donations of new or gently used books for children ages 6-13 to help renovate a reading room at the Boys & Girls Club of Paterson and Passaic. They are partnering with The Andre Reed Foundation, which was established in 2010 by Buffalo Bills NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Reed to help underprivileged children reach their full potential and become responsible contributors to their communities. Andre has brought his “Read with Reed 83” program to seven Boys & Girls Clubs across the country, including Dallas, Philadelphia, San Diego, and Houston, inspiring over 4,000 children to read at least 30 minutes per day. The goal of Reed's program is to encourage kids to exercise their minds, tackle good books, catch the love of reading, and understand that reading is a way out and up. Candace and Adam are working with him to bring the program here to New Jersey. They will be working with a group of 20 volunteers from the community to paint the reading room, build shelves, interact with kids, and organize a library of books. To help with this project, there is a box at the Watchung Hills Elks Lodge where book donations are gratefully accepted until July 1. Stop by any day after 12PM, ring the doorbell and the collection box is just inside -- we're located across the street from the Warren Rescue Squad at 1 Elks Trail, Warren, NJ 07059. Call the lodge at 908-668-9727 with your questions. Read the full article