Teams of Rotarians and volunteers will go to the three elementary schools in North Plainfield and the ten elementary schools and three charter schools in Plainfield during October to give a dictionary to every third grade student. A total of 1,200 dictionaries will be presented, including Spanish-English dictionaries for ESL students.
“Our Dictionary Project for Plainfield and North Plainfield school children is in its eleventh year,” said Ravenell Williams, president of the club. “It is one of our most important and most successful community service projects because of its direct contact with so many young girls and boys in their classroom settings. All of our members feel the same way – our hearts are warmed by the smiles and even cheers when we announce the gift and present the dictionaries to each student. This project is so important to the education of our children, and we are proud to play our part.”
People from both communities are welcome to join this project. The Rotary Club works with the schools and teachers to help make their students active readers, good writers, and creative thinkers. “We love to have people join us on the project,” said club president Williams. “It’s a great way to see directly what Rotary is all about – service to others. What better way to do that than helping children with their education?”
The Rotarians take the opportunity to teach the children about service to the community, both local and worldwide. “I like to involve the students by first asking for help defining “rotary” and “club”,” said Michael Townley, club secretary. Mr. Townley is on the team that usually presents the dictionaries at the Cook, Cedarbrook, and Evergreen schools in Plainfield. “After hearing some excellent responses, I have a student read each definition from the book. Then we talk about service, about what it means to be a Rotarian helping others, about Rotary’s efforts to eliminate polio.
“Most children don’t know about polio, because it is not a disease we find in this hemisphere. That opens up a wider discussion about how Rotarians throughout the world have worked together to virtually eliminate this crippling disease. The discussion is a great opportunity for us to teach ‘Service Above Self’ to these young students,” said Mr. Townley.
The dictionaries are purchased through The Dictionary Project, Inc., a non-profit created in 1995 in South Carolina. The Dictionary Project’s mission is to put a dictionary in the hands of every third grade student in the United States. Since its founding, over 27.2 million dictionaries have been presented to children across the U.S. More information is available at the Dictionary Project’s website at www.dictionaryproject.org.
The Rotary Club of Plainfield-North Plainfield, founded in 1921, has served the community for over 95 years. Members are community and business leaders in the area who meet weekly on Wednesdays at 12:15 pm at Giovanna’s Restaurant in Plainfield. Come to Giovanna’s any Wednesday to learn more about how you can join or support this great service club. Contact Michael Townley, club secretary, at rotarypnp@verizon.net for additional information about the Rotary Club, and its activities or to inquire about membership, or visit the Club’s website at www.rotarypnp.org.
(above) Happy children proudly display their new dictionaries, a gift from the Rotary Club of Plainfield-North Plainfield, during a recent presentation.
