Members of the nine Salem area Rotary Clubs recently spent an evening putting labels in dictionaries in preparation for their delivery during the coming weeks to fourth graders in area public and private schools.
A tradition that began 18 years ago, each year Rotarians visit fourth grade classrooms in Salem, Stayton and surrounding communities to present each fourth grader with a dictionary of their very own. English and Spanish dictionaries are provided for students to take home and use throughout their academic career. For many this is the first book they have ever owned and it is astonishing how many of them keep this as a prized possession. East Salem Rotarian, Karin Holton remembers a time with the South Salem club when a high school senior who was receiving a scholarship shared memories of her receipt of her dictionary as a fourth grader as part of her scholarship essay and even brought it to the club meeting when she received her scholarship check. “In this day of electronic books and technological resources it is rewarding to see kids be so excited about receiving this gift” said Holton.
Each summer area Rotarians and friends of Rotary participate in a golf tournament to raise money to pay for the dictionaries. For more information about Rotary in the Salem area visit rotaryd5100.org and click on the greater Salem link.