SARANAC LAKE — Saranac Lake Rotary Club members recently gave away books to local students.

The Saranac Lake Rotary Club has been giving books to kids for 13 years. The program has grown from giving one or two books to each classroom to share with the whole class to giving every child in Saranac Lake, Kindergarten through fifth grade, a book every year.

This year, the club gave close to 700 books to children during the “Read Across America” month of March. The club has fundraisers each year to help support this initiative — the Olga Race (Aug. 19 this year) and the Rotary Winter Carnival Show.

The club’s goal always is to introduce children to the world of reading and how it opens new paths for them now and in the future. Having books of their own in the home is an important way children achieve good reading skills that will benefit them throughout their lives, according to the club.