The dic�tion�ar�y Project -
The Gift of Knowledge
dic�tion�ar�y n. pl. dic�tion�ar�ies -
1. A reference book containing an alphabetical list of words, with information given for each
word, usually including meaning, pronunciation, and etymology.
2. A book listing the words of a language with translations into another language.
3. A book listing words or other linguistic items in a particular category or subject with specialized information about them: a medical dictionary.
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[Medieval Latin dictinrium, from Latin dicti, dictin-, diction. See diction.]
In 2003-04, the Rotary Club of Jersey City initiated a new community service project aimed at helping to promote literacy in the Public Schools of Jersey City. After a visit by a speaker from the neighboring Rotary District 7470, club members and the board decided to implement "The Dictionary Project" in Jersey City.
The nationwide "Dictionary Project" is the brainchild of a woman named Mary French. She got the idea from a 1995 letter to the editor printed in The Post and Courier in South Carolina. Third graders are the focus of the project because the third grade is generally the point at which students begin to work independently, French said. They begin to write, read for pleasure and think creatively. At the third grade level, a dictionary becomes the first and most useful reference tool a child can own, she said.
When she started donating dictionaries years ago, French's aim was to put a personal copy in the hands of
mostly poor students in her hometown of Charleston. Now, the program has expanded to all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Past District 7470 Governor Robert Pityo has been instrumental in harnessing the power of Rotary for the spectacular success of the initiative.
"I learned of the project in 1998 when on a Rotary assignment at a District 7770 conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina," explains Pityo. "Mary French was then distributing dictionaries voluntarily to third grade students in Charleston. To me, it was a natural community, literacy, public relations, hands on, membership development, youth-oriented project that would benefit not only the students, but the teachers, parents, community, and the Rotary club."
As soon as he returned home, Pityo introduced the project to his Rotary Club of Cedar Grove, New Jersey. The club earned the distinction of being the first to spread the initiative outside the boundaries of South Carolina.
"Each and every one of the 55 other clubs in District 7470 has followed our example," says Pityo. "This year, over 60, 000 third grade students have received dictionaries from the 56 Rotary clubs in our district. Additionally each club has committed to making it an annual event, which is really the strength of the project. How far this will go is anybody's guess.
"I'm thrilled with what has happened to the project since I introduced it here in New Jersey and beyond," he says. "Every Rotary club should be involved."
The goal of the Jersey City Rotary Dictionary Project is to ensure that every third grader in the Jersey City Public Schools has his or her own English dictionary. The teachers are encouraged to implement a curriculum based on the use of the dictionary in the classroom, and at the end of the year each student is encouraged to take the dictionary home and utilize in their further education.
In the first year of this project, 2,700 dictionaries will be distributed by over 30 volunteer Rotarians who will personally visit the schools. The Club plans to continue the project on an annual basis with each succeeding class of third-graders.
Learn more about the nationwide "Dictionary Project" HERE