Rotary Club of The Plainfields – A 20-year Tradition of Literacy and Service Continues

Members of the Rotary Club of the Plainfields recently joined forces with students from the Interact Club at North Plainfield High School to prepare nearly 1,100 dictionaries for distribution. Together, they applied special labels identifying the books as gifts from the Rotary Club and the Plainfield Foundation, which provided a grant to support the project.

These dictionaries were then delivered to every third-grade student in North Plainfield and Plainfield elementary schools, including local charter schools.

This literacy initiative has been a cherished Rotary Club tradition for twenty years, with more than 25,500 books distributed at a total cost of over $70,000. The project continues through a valued partnership with the Plainfield Foundation, whose financial assistance has helped sustain this important community effort.

“Our club has given free dictionaries to third-grade students in Plainfield and North Plainfield for twenty years,” said Rotary Club President Manuela Garcia. “It is one of our favorite projects because we are giving the students their own book while instilling in them the ideal of service to others. And it gives us an opportunity to work with the Interact Club, the youth service club that we sponsor at North Plainfield High School.”

Under the guidance of Mr. Joseph Lombardo, adviser to the Interact Club, students Brianna*, Leo, Edison*, Erika*, and Manuela joined Rotary members Janice Allen, Michael Townley, and President Garcia to label the books—a task completed in just over an hour. (*Denotes Interact members and their adviser; all others are Rotary Club members.)

“We enjoy every opportunity we have to work with the Interact Club on projects for our communities,” said Janice Allen, longtime Rotary member and former mayor of North Plainfield. “They are so enthusiastic and willing to help. Some of the Interact members will also assist us in presenting the books in North Plainfield’s three elementary schools, showing the third graders one of the service opportunities that awaits them in high school.”

Teams of Rotarians then visited the schools to personally present each student with an English or Spanish-English dictionary. During their visits, they talked with students about Rotary’s mission of service and the importance of learning and literacy.

“We get the children involved in talking about our club and about how important it is to learn words and their definitions,” said Michael Townley, Rotary Club secretary. “They enjoy answering questions and checking out the fun features in their new books.”

The Rotary Club of the Plainfields meets for lunch at 12:15 PM on the fourth Wednesday of each month at the Park Avenue Diner, 2004 Park Avenue in South Plainfield. Guests are always welcome.
To learn more about the club and its community projects, contact Michael Townley, club secretary, at RotaryPlainfields@gmail.com or 908-227-6782.

(Photo Credit to: The Rotary Club of The Plainfields)