The Rotary Club of Lynn recently distributed dictionaries to 3
rd graders in the Lynn Public Schools. The Dictionary Project of the Lynn Rotary Club, sponsored by Equitable Bank, distributed over 1,000 dictionaries to 17 elementary schools as a positive effort in supporting literacy in the schools. Rotarians visited all the 3
rd grade classes within the schools to distribute the dictionaries, explain their use, and to have fun in finding words in the books. The Dictionary Project of the Rotary Club of Lynn is held in concert with efforts from The Literacy Project, a national literacy support group, and has been an annual effort by the Lynn Rotary. According to the Literacy Project, the following rationale is given for distributing dictionaries to 3
rd graders:
“We chose third grade as the year to give dictionaries to students for two reasons. The first is practical: third grade is the year in which dictionary skills are taught in most schools. The second is no less practical, but broader in scope: third grade represents a critical juncture in a child's education. This is the year a student makes the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. All formal education from this point through college is premised upon the student being able to read and to understand what he or she reads. If we as a community want our children to succeed in education, we must ensure that they have the resources and encouragement to become strong readers by third grade. “
Additionally “As of 2009, 93% of children ages 3-17 lived in households with at least one computer, and 77% used a home computer to access the Internet. It is still likely that almost one in ten American children do not have access to a computer at home. Children in minority ethnic groups or low-income households are much less likely to have a computer at home
Even for children with computer access, a dictionary provides benefits a computer cannot. Dictionaries are portable and can be used anywhere. A child has a sense of ownership of a book that encourages exploration. And only a dictionary can provide that delightful experience of looking up a word and getting sidetracked by all the other fascinating words on the same page.”
The Rotarian participation in this project has brought joy and delight to hundreds of 3rd graders in the Lynn Public Schools along with their teachers and Principals. Teachers and principals continue to express support for the project even in this computer world. As for the Rotarians, all the participants reported great fun and enthusiasm by students and teachers and all expressed future participation in the project. It is a favorite among club members. The Rotary Club was again fortunate to have the generous support of Equitable Bank in sponsoring the purchase of the books. The following Rotarians participated in the project: Barbara Maitland, Rev. Bill Simpson, Wendy Silva, President Obie Barker, Elaine Kurkul, Representative Steve Walsh, Steve Upton, Bob Dugas, David Payton, Jim Harris, Dave Richardson, Marolie Licardi, Tom Lynch, Rich Cuffe, Lisa Campbell, Bob Kennedy, Mark Kennard, and Virginia Doocy. We were also grateful to have the participation of Don Smith, President of Equitable Bank, and Catherine Latham, Superintendent of the Lynn Public Schools. Special thanks were given to Jim Harris for chairing the project. All in all, Rotarians, teachers, principals and especially the students reported a great event!
On December 30, 2013, Lynn Rotary President Obie Barker and a group of students from the Lynn Boys & Girls Club Torch program, delivered over 200 cases of books to the Rotary Club of Jamestown, Rhode Island, to be shipped to schools in Ghana. The project, called the Ghana Literacy Project, collects books for schools in Ghana which do not have the resources necessary to educate their children. President Obie’s participation in the project came as a result of a letter sent to him from the Jamestown RI Club asking for help and stating:
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