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Bottle drive helps fund children's space programs

For the month of July, the Challenger Learning Center of Maine in Bangor is accepting bottle donations at Damon’s Redemption.

BANGOR, Maine — For the month of July, the Challenger Learning Center in Bangor is accepting bottle donations at Damon’s Redemption.

"I live in Bangor and my kids grew up going to some of the programs that the Challenger Center has. We happened to have extra cans and bottles in the garage and I thought, 'I can donate my cans and give them a little bit of money,'" Peggy McKee said, one of many that stopped by to donate her bottles and cans.

Today, staff and volunteers from the Challenger Learning Center were at Damon's Redemption collecting and depositing bottles for those who were donating. 

RELATED: Damon's hosts bottle drive to benefit the Challenger Learning Center

"We are your classic, small nonprofit. We are just a small team, but that serves a lot of students, as many as we can. So our community, whether it's businesses [or] individuals, have really stepped up to help donate," Kirsten Hibbard, the executive director at the Challenger Learning Center, said.

The event was called "Bottle Bonanza," and to get into the spirit of the event, folks from the Challenger Center decorated a self-serve machine with space-themed cutouts. 

"I think it is incredibly important to support them, to get the word out that they exist," Judy Radigan, a Lewiston High School mathematics teacher who drove all the way to Bangor to volunteer her time at the bottle drive, said.

Though the "Bottle Bonanza" was only happening on Thursday, anyone wishing to make a donation can still brings bottles to Damon's Redemption to make a donation to the Challenger Learning Center until the end of July.

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