LIMA — For the 10th time in nine years, the Lima Rotary Club distributed dictionaries to Allen County third-graders as part of its literacy initiative.
More than 1,200 dictionaries were delivered Wednesday to students in 12 elementary schools throughout the county, Lima Rotarian and Dictionary Project Chairman Dave Cockerell said. The Lima Rotary Club has been distributing dictionaries to third-graders since 2006 for the purpose of increasing literacy among students.
“Literacy is an important part of what the Rotary Club does, so this is just another way to hopefully help the kids as they move on in their education,” Cockerell said.
In an age where the Internet can provide an abundance of information at a person’s fingertips, some people might feel that dictionaries are obsolete. But Cockerell said what people might not realize is not everyone has access to the Internet.
“If you really stop and think about it, not all kids have access to computers,” he said. “They might have it at school or the library, but they don’t have them at home. Computers are great, but if you don’t have that opportunity, they don’t do a lot of good. This gives them another opportunity to find that information.”
In addition to dictionaries, students received a Rotary Club pencil and a sticker they can place in their dictionary with their name on it. Students were also given a brief history of the Lima Rotary Club.
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Lima Rotary Club member Dave Cockerell hands a dictionary to Elida Elementary School third-grader Coron Fields on Wednesday during the club’s Dictionary Day.
