Gilbert Rotary dictionary project in February

 For the fifth consecutive year, Gilbert Rotarians are busy affixing nameplate labels to the flyleaves of 3,000 paperback dictionaries. Next week begins a month-long volunteer effort by members of this group to visit every elementary school in Gilbert Public Schools and in a 15-minute presentation to assembled third grade students, give each of them their personal dictionary as a gift from Gilbert Rotary. Rotarians espouse basic literacy to be a pre-condition to the development of world peace, and Gilbert Rotary provides dictionaries to third grade students encouraging the children to learn more about the world in which they live. In addition to words and their meanings, the dictionaries also include several pages of atlas maps and other useful information.

The goal of the Dictionary Project is “to assist all students in becoming good writers, active readers, creative thinkers, and resourceful learners by providing them with their own personal dictionary. The dictionaries are a gift to each student to use at school and at home for years to come. Educators see third grade as the dividing line between learning to read and reading to learn, so we encourage our sponsors to give dictionaries each year to children in the third grade.” For more information on the Dictionary Project, visit www.dictionaryproject.org.

Rotary sponsors youth leadership scholarships, and through their youth foreign exchange programs, students are brought together from different countries and cultures, fostering international understanding. For more information on Gilbert Rotary, please visit http://gilbertrotary.blogspot.com

Media are welcome to attend one of the donation presentations. Please phone 480/497-3364 to arrange a visit.