(843) 737-1345
wordpower@dictionaryproject.org
P.O. Box 180159
Coronado, CA 92178

Mission Statement

The goal of this program 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.

Vision

With the support of local sponsors and volunteers, we want to provide a dictionary to every student in the United States. In this way we hope to help them to improve their communication skills and make the most of their education. Many of our sponsors are also taking the Dictionary Project beyond the United States, to help improve literacy worldwide.

The Dictionary Project is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization.

According to the United States’ Internal Revenue Service, an organization is tax-exempt if it is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes and none of its earnings go to a private individual. In addition, a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code may not attempt to influence legislation or participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.

History

The idea for The Dictionary Project began in 1992 when Annie Plummer of Savannah, Georgia, gave 50 dictionaries to children who attended a school close to her home. Each year she continued to give this gift, raising money to help give more and more books so that in her lifetime she raised enough money to buy 17,000 dictionaries for children in Savannah. Early on, her project attracted the attention of Bonnie Beeferman of Hilton Head, S.C., who began a project of raising money by selling crafts to buy dictionaries for the schoolchildren of Hilton Head and the surrounding communities. By 1995, Bonnie was getting so many requests from local teachers to be included in the project that she wrote a letter to the editor of the Charleston Post and Courier explaining the project and asking for someone to help meet requests from the Charleston area. Mary French, who was already an active school volunteer even though her two children were still of preschool age, read the letter and decided this was a project for her. Starting with a few schools in Charleston and Summerville, she realized quickly that providing dictionaries to all the students in Charleston was going to require serious fundraising. She and her late husband Arno French formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Association in 1995, along with a Board of Directors. Arno served as president, Mary became the director of the Association, and The Dictionary Project was born.

Since its implementation in 1995, over 31 million children have received dictionaries because thousands of people saw the same need in communities all over the United States.

The original goal set by the board was to provide dictionaries to all third-grade students in South Carolina every year. This goal was achieved in 1999. After The Wall Street Journal published a story about the project in March 2002, the Dictionary Project took on a national purpose and expanded its mission to include students in the 50 United States. The program is typically implemented in the third grade each year, since this is the age at which dictionary skills are usually taught. Educators describe third grade as the time when a student transitions from learning to read to reading to learn.

The program has been adopted and refined by individuals, businesses, and civic organizations all over the country. Groups such as Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs, Elks Lodges, Granges, Lions Clubs, The Republican Federation of Women, Pioneer volunteers, parent organizations, and many more, have implemented The Dictionary Project where they live. Anyone can participate in this project by sponsoring a program to provide dictionaries to children in their community. The dictionaries are a gift for the children to keep. Our sponsors give dictionaries and other reference books to children in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, 9 Canadian provinces, and more than 15 other countries around the world.

Students can use the dictionaries throughout their school careers. Each year we offer a new edition of our dictionary that has been improved by sharing suggestions from teachers, students, and parents with the publisher. These and other ideas we receive from sponsors, students, and teachers are an integral part of this project because they give our Board of Directors direction. Through the Dictionary Project, sponsors can also choose to provide thesauruses, atlases, Spanish/English dictionaries, French/English dictionaries, or vocabulary builders to students in their local schools. The Dictionary Project is funded through donations and sponsors who introduce the program in their local schools. We are a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, registered as a charity in all 50 states. A copy of our tax return and state registration are available upon request.

The Dictionary Project Team

Mary French
Director

Mary has a bachelor’s degree in English with a political science minor from Charleston Southern University. She has been the Director of the Dictionary Project since 1995. She has written and published The Dictionary of Wisdom, The Best Dictionary for Students, A Student’s Dictionary, A Student’s Dictionary, Canadian Edition, A Student’s Dictionary & Gazetteer, Canadian Edition, and with the help of Karan and Siddarth Rai, A Student’s Dictionary & Animal Gazetteer. Mary enjoys reading, walking, and traveling. Her favorite thing about her job is listening to people talk about their experiences implementing the Dictionary Project.

Carrie Bonavita
Administrative Assistant

With over 40 years of experience spanning administration, bookkeeping, human resources, and marketing coordination Carrie joins The Dictionary Project team, helping coordinate donations, manage communications with sponsors, and ensure that every pledge turns into a book in a student’s hands. She is passionate about literacy and believes that a dictionary is more than a reference book — it’s a key to opportunity and lifelong learning. Through her dedication and personal connection with donors and community partners, Carrie helps sustain the project’s mission of giving every child the power of words.

Board of Directors

The Dictionary Project’s Board of Directors oversees the fulfillment of The Dictionary Project’s mission and vision.

All members of the Board of Directors are independent, voting members.

Douglas Boggie
President

2015 – Current

Douglas C. Boggie is the President of The Dictionary Project’s board of directors and has been a board member since 2015. He is a Financial Advisor and lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Doug says the word that best describes him is motivated and had the following to say about the Dictionary Project. “As a member of Kiwanis in the Raleigh area we have found The Dictionary Project to be one of the most fulfilling programs for the Kiwanis clubs in our area. The tremendous reception from the students and teachers to the program as well as the personal gratification from the members handing out the dictionaries continue to make it a truly heartwarming experience for all.”

Dennis Brovarone
Vice President

2019 – Current

Dennis Brovarone joined The Dictionary Project’s Board of Directors in 2019 and currently serves as its Vice President. He is an attorney and lives in Littleton, Colorado. He chairs the Littleton Rotary Literacy Committee and has been distributing dictionaries for over five years.

Dennis says the word that best describes him is persistent.

According to Dennis, “A dictionary is the gateway to not merely literacy but also science and the arts. Dictionaries are an educational necessity as that gateway tool and superior to reliance on websites and e-readers in many ways. Dictionaries become tactile treasures and a foundation of life long learning. Our literacy program in support of a Littleton Public School is over twenty years old. Once a week for an hour or two, our volunteers have students read a book of their choice, one on one to a volunteer who help with pronunciation, meaning and just having an adult pay attention to them. These volunteer hours are usually the best part of the week and Dictionary Distribution Day is a high point of the school year for the students and the volunteers. I have had parents tell me they still have their dictionaries decades after finishing school while electronic devices become obsolete in a few years. The third and fourth graders are thrilled when our Rotary Club distributes the dictionaries and their teachers are grateful for the support.”

Gary Pollmiller
Secretary

2018 – Current

Gary Pollmiller was elected to the board of directors in 2018 and currently serves as its Secretary. He lives in Parsons, Kansas and is a retired commercial fine art and product photographer.

Gary has been an active Rotarian since May 1, 1988. He has participated in The Dictionary Project since 2001 and says the word that best describes himself is Practical.

Gary had the following comments to make about the importance of having a paperback dictionary. “A paperback dictionary is a practical, non-electronic method of improving the literacy of children and adults. I am not convinced that all students have access to a device or internet access in their home. These modern paperback dictionaries are practical when a student is given an assignment to learn about a new subject, and then can look up the words describing that subject which may seem outside of their present grade level.”

Terry L. LaCombe-Stephens
Board Member

2019 – Current

Terry L. LaCombe-Stephens became a board member in 2019. She is a real estate agent and lives in Hudson, Maine.

Terry has been actively participating in The Dictionary Project since 2016 and learned about the project through the Maine State Grange “Words for Thirds” dictionary project.

Diversified is the word Terry says best describes her.

When asked why she thinks a dictionary is a necessity, she replied, “A dictionary is important for all ages as it teaches us how to communicate. Communication is the key to life. Having a dictionary enables one to communicate effectively with words and words give us the ability to communicate effectively.”

Steve Githens
Board Member

2015 – Current

Steve Githens has dedicated his life to public service, community engagement, and education. His professional career includes leadership roles as Transit Director in Marion, Indiana; Johnson City, Tennessee; and Lakeland, Florida, as well as Director of School Bus Operations for Alachua County, Florida. He also served as a City Commissioner and Mayor of Bartow, Florida, and worked in insurance sales and service in his hometown of Bartow.

Throughout his career, Steve has volunteered extensively—both locally and internationally. His service includes time with the Peace Corps in Colombia, South America, and numerous community organizations such as Friends of the Library, YMCA, Florida Public Transit Association, Polk Symphony Orchestra, and the Community Redevelopment Agency in Bartow.

Steve was introduced to The Dictionary Project through the Bartow Rotary Club and quickly became one of its most passionate advocates. Over the past decade, he has raised the funding and organized presentations to nearly 1,900 students across 20 schools during the 2023–24 school year. His enthusiasm for literacy and learning is evident in every classroom visit, where he enjoys seeing students’ smiles and hearing how they use their dictionaries long after receiving them.

When he’s not working on community projects, Steve enjoys bicycling, mentoring students, helping build local trails, supporting public art, and traveling.

Dr. Betty Lou Kehl Richardson
Board Member

2023 – Current

Dr. Betty Lou Richardson is an Advanced Practice Nurse and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a distinguished career spanning more than six decades in mental health, nursing education, and community service. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing from the University of Texas at Austin and master’s degrees in both Nursing and Health Care Administration.

Dr. Richardson has served as Director of Nursing at Austin State Hospital, Professor of Nursing at Austin Community College, and a private practice therapist since 1988. She has authored and edited numerous textbooks and professional publications and continues to write a monthly parenting column for Austin Family magazine.

A dedicated Rotarian, Dr. Richardson has led and supported humanitarian and health projects throughout Mexico and Central America, helping to establish clinics, improve schools, and expand access to care. Her many honors include Rotary International’s “Service Above Self” Award and recognition for her lifelong contributions to nursing education and international service.

Dr. Richardson’s lifelong dedication to learning, literacy, and child development directly supports The Dictionary Project’s mission to empower students through words. Drawing on her background in education and community outreach, Dr. Richardson brings valuable insight and compassion to her role as a board member.

History of The Dictionary Project

A Simple Gift Sparks a National Movement

The idea for Dictionary Project began in 1992 with Annie Plummer of Savannah, Georgia. She bought and donated 50 dictionaries to students at a nearby school. Inspired by the students’ reactions, she continued giving every year, raising funds to reach more classrooms. Over her lifetime, Annie raised enough money to distribute more than 17,000 dictionaries to children in Savannah.

The Idea Spreads Beyond Savannah

Annie’s passion caught the attention of Bonnie Beeferman from Hilton Head, South Carolina. Bonnie began raising money by selling crafts to fund dictionaries for local students. By 1995, requests from teachers grew beyond her capacity, prompting her to write a letter to the Charleston Post and Courier.

A Mission Takes Shape

That letter reached Mary French, a school volunteer and mother of two preschoolers. Moved by the cause, Mary joined the effort. She started with schools in Charleston and Summerville but quickly realized that meeting every school’s need would require larger-scale coordination.

Mary and her late husband, Arno French, formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1995. With a Board of Directors, Arno served as president and Mary became the program’s director. Together, they officially launched The Dictionary Project.

From South Carolina to the Nation

The project’s first goal was to give a dictionary to every third grader in South Carolina. That goal was met in 1999. In 2002, The Wall Street Journal featured the program, expanding its reach across all 50 states. Third grade remains the target age, as this is when students typically shift from learning to read to reading to learn.

Community-Driven Success

Since 1995, over 31 million students have received dictionaries. The project continues thanks to the efforts of individuals, businesses, and service groups like Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs, Elks Lodges, and Elks Lodges.

Each group customizes the project for their community, delivering books directly to classrooms. The dictionaries are gifts—students keep them and use them throughout their school years.

Evolving with Feedback

Every year, a new edition of the dictionary is published. Feedback from teachers, students, and parents helps guide improvements. Sponsors also offer additional tools like thesauruses, atlases, and bilingual dictionaries.

The Dictionary Project is funded entirely by donations and sponsors who bring the program to local schools. As a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, it operates in all 50 states, Washington D.C., the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, 9 Canadian provinces, and over 15 other countries.

Contact Us.

History

The Team

Board of Directors