Rotary District 5160

 

In the largest project ever undertaken by the Clubs of District 5160, Rotarians personally handed top-quality, hardbound children's dictionaries to all 30,000 third graders in the District.

The focus of the 1998 District Conference was the dramatic arrival of 30,000 dictionaries and their preparation for delivery to students. Participants affixed Rotary labels to each book, inserted letters to parents describing the local Rotary club's contributions to the community, and carried the "Rotary" dictionaries home to be presented in their local schools. Over 10,000 thank-you notes poured in from students, teachers and parents. By 1999, one-third of the District 5160 Clubs decided to continue this as an annual club project, and Rotarians in other Districts, from Hawaii to New York, began adopting the Literacy Project a their own.

This is the story of how the Literacy Project was carried out...and how other Clubs can adopt it as their own.