MANSFIELD – Third-grade students in Richland County have new dictionaries from the Rotary Club of Mansfield.
Each year, club members label and deliver the books to elementary schools. They have been doing this project for over 30 years.
Rotary Club of Mansfield Member Dave Petska, a retired Crestview School District educator, has led the service project for years.
“The dictionaries are meaningful gifts to the children. In some cases, it is the first book they own,” Petska said. “The Rotary Club looks forward to continuing its vision to support the literacy of young students.”
The Rotary Club of Mansfield partners with The Dictionary Project, a nonprofit organization. Its mission is to assist all students in becoming good writers, active readers, creative thinkers, and resourceful learners by providing them with their own dictionaries.
Dictionaries are a gift to each student to use at school and home for years to come.
Educators see third grade as the dividing line between learning to read and reading to learn.
This year, the Rotary Club of Mansfield delivered 1,057 dictionaries to 15 elementary schools and spent about $3,200. The Ohio State University at Mansfield and North Central State College have contributed money to this project for the past three years.
Other service projects of the local club include the McGowan Courage Awards, Strive program, Medical Equipment and Supplies Abroad (MESA), High School 4-Way Test Speech Contest, Stream Cleanup, Litter Pickup, United Way Day of Caring, and Salvation Army Bell Ringing.