Thanks to Rotarians, Christmas comes early for kids at Hawthorne Elementary

 Third graders at Hawthorne Elementary School all will get free dictionaries at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday from members of the Boise Southwest Rotary Club.

Local Rotarians have given away hundreds of dictionaries to students at Grace Jordan, Sacred Heart and other Boise schools through their annual dictionary program. The books are specifically produced for students at the third grade level, when dictionary skills are typically introduced. Students are encouraged to use the books at school or take them home. With more than 100 members, Boise Southwest Rotary was chartered in 1972. Club projects include literacy activities and an annual party for Whittier Elementary School students, food sorting at the Idaho Food Bank, free dictionaries for third graders in Boise schools, a Greenbelt clean-up effort, and a campaign to provide food and gift baskets to Mountain States Tumor Institute patients and their families.