Davenport Elks Lodge #298 Continue The Dictionary Project Tradition

Thanks to the members of the Davenport Elks Lodge #298, receiving a dictionary has become rite of passage for the third graders in Davenport Community School District. For over ten years, the Davenport Elks have teamed up with The Dictionary Project to promote education in their community. This fall, Project Coordinator Earl Oelerich and fellow members of the Davenport Elks Lodge #298 visited 22 elementary schools to provide each third grade student with his or her own reference dictionary. In addition to the dictionaries, the Elks members gave the third graders an Elks National Drug Awareness coloring book and bookmark encouraging them to Say “No” to Drugs. More than 1,300 dictionaries and drug awareness materials were distributed to the school children. “I’m very pleased and proud of our Elk members, who are dedicated to this project and have given of their time, effort and energy to raise funds, organize and distribute these reference dictionaries to students located in 22 different elementary schools,” said Davenport Elks Exalted Ruler John Zamora. “We have been providing dictionaries for more than ten years and know of students who continue to use these dictionaries into their college years. This is special way we can do something to help the kids in our community.” The dictionaries were purchased with funds donated through an Elks’ steak fry fundraiser put on and hosted by Lindell’s Central Park Automotive together with $2,000.00 received through a Gratitude grant from the Elks National Foundation located in Chicago, Ill. The Elks National Foundation’s Community Investments Program allocates $9.77 million to invest in communities through Lodge grants which help Elk members meet local needs throughout the United States. “A dictionary is a very important tool for students to have and gives our students one of their first, and very own, reference books. Not every student has access to a computer and/or the internet. We appreciate the gifts of these dictionaries for our students and want to thank the Elks for their generosity,” said Mrs. Karen Tallman, third grade teacher, McKinley Elementary School. “It’s encouraging to see people who are concerned about and invest in the education of children. We use the dictionaries often during the school day to locate multiple meaning words and refine alphabetical order. These dictionaries are a true gift for the children!”