The Freemasons of Argo Summit Lodge No. 1133 and Sunrise Lodge No. 996 surprised students at Brodnicki and Wilkins Elementary schools in Indian Springs School District 109 recently with bicycles earned through a new reading incentive program.
The “Bikes for Books” initiative rewarded students who completed reading assignments by entering them into a raffle drawing. Eighteen bikes were distributed across the two schools — six to Wilkins Elementary on Friday, May 29, and 12 to Brodnicki on Monday, June 1.Â
“We have a program through the Masons called Bikes for Books,” said Dennis Beggs, a Freemason who will serve as chaplain of the Argo Summit Lodge next year. “We came together and purchased a few bikes for the kids for the reading program.”
Heath Brosseau, director of special education for District 109, and a member of the lodge, said the collaboration marks the first year of the partnership between the district and the Freemasons.
“The students had to read books and then by grade level they put raffles in a little box, and then they picked out a raffle and that’s how we decided who was going to win,” Brosseau said.
The program will expand next year across the entire district.
Superintendent Crystal Skoczylas praised the donation.
“We are so very honored and blessed that the Masons chose School District 109 to donate bikes to our students,” Skoczylas said. “We know the students will have an opportunity to be outside even more because of their generosity, and it was just a nice surprise to find out they were doing this for us.”
After students claimed their bikes, school staff reminded them of a critical safety rule: always wear a helmet.