Springfield Elks Lodge begins dictionary project

We heard about the Dictionary Project while attending the Elks’ National Convention. It took us a couple of years to get the ball rolling to be able to participate in the project. Once we did, it was well worth the effort. We passed out the dictionaries to all third graders in the Springfield City School District. This district is an inner-city school district with 10 elementary schools. With help from and the blessing of the principals and teachers, we went into the classrooms, passed out the dictionaries, and I talked to the children in each room. The kids loved the books and we loved the response we got in return.
We raised the money for the project by having a raffle. We raffled off two all-expense-paid trips to whatever bowl game the Ohio State Buckeyes qualified for this year. We had many volunteers involved as the entire lodge participated in selling the tickets.
The thank-you letters that we received from the children were the best. We posted them around the lodge so that our membership could enjoy reading them. I hope that this letter helps you get the information out to other organizations and I really thank you for making it available to us.
Sincerely,
Tom Schilling
Exalted Ruler
Springfield Elks Lodge # 51