CHS Rotary distributes dictionaries

The Rotary Club of Canonsburg Houston Southpointe recently completed its annual distribution of dictionaries to third-graders in the Canon-McMillan and Chartiers-Houston school districts. Third-graders in the following elementary schools each received a copy of “A Student’s Dictionary,” published by The Dictionary Project Inc.: Borland Manor, Cecil, First Street, Hills-Hendersonville, Muse, South Central, Wylandville and Allison Park. For some of the schoolchildren, the dictionary from the local Rotary club is the only book they own. Teachers in the club’s service area continue requesting to be included in the yearly program. The Dictionary Project was formed as a nonprofit association because of the work of community service individuals in Savannah, Ga., and in Hilton Head, Summerville and Charleston, S.C., who had been providing dictionaries to elementary school students. The project drew the attention of various service organizations, including Rotary, and since its implementation, more than 28 million children have received dictionaries because people saw the same need in communities all over the United States. CHS Rotary has participated in the dictionary project for nearly a decade and has distributed more than 5,000 books to students in local public and parochial schools. The 2017-18 theme for Rotary clubs is “Rotary: Making a Difference,” and the dictionary project is one example of how Rotarians make a difference in basic education and literacy.