Laurel Rotary Club promotes literacy with large gift to students

 The Laurel Rotary Club is donating nearly 600 dictionaries to third-graders at eight public and private elementary schools this fall.

The project, in its fifth year, is primarily funded by donations from Rotary members, and this year`s donations reached $775, said Rotary President Joy Kline.

The Club has already visited St. Mary of the Mills School and Bond Mill, Scotchtown Hills and Laurel elementary schools and plans to distribute the books to Montpelier, Oaklands, James H. Harrison and Deerfield Run elementary schools in the next several weeks.

Jeffrey Blitz, president-elect of the Laurel Rotary, said the Club has continued to fund the dictionary project because the fundraiser falls in line with the Rotary`s goal to promote literacy.

`Education is very important to us,’ Blitz said. `You`re not going to get anywhere in this world without education.`