Optimist and Lions Clubs provide dictionaries to students
October 18, 2010
Wentzville, MO
The Wentzville/Lake Saint Louis Optimist Club and the Wentzville Lions Club joined forces to raise money in order to provide dictionaries to every third grade student in each school within the Wentzville School District boundaries. The joint effort was in conjunction with The Dictionary Project, a non-profit group whose goal is “to assist all students in completing the school year as good writers, active readers and creative thinkers by providing students with their own personal dictionary,” according to the group’s website.
Third grade students in all nine Wentzville Elementary Schools as well as those attending area private schools received dictionaries in September as a result of the Optimist and Lions Club efforts.
Peine Ridge Elementary Teacher and 3rd Grade Chairperson Tonya Leonard was thrilled to receive the donation for her students. “The students are very excited to receive a new set of dictionaries to help them edit during writer’s workshop.”
This is the fifth year the Optimist Club has been involved with The Dictionary Project and the second year the Optimists have teamed up with the Lions Club to provide the dictionaries. Due to the tremendous growth in our area, the Optimists found that they were unable to continue the effort on their own and invited the Lions Club to join them in their mission to provide dictionaries to every local third grader. Because of their combined fundraising efforts and the generous donations of local benefactors, 1,248 dictionaries were donated to Wentzville public and private elementary schools this year.
The companies that made significant donations include Ehll’s Western Auto, Ameren UE, and the United Parcel Service (UPS). Last year, The Dictionary Project placed over 64,000 dictionaries in Missouri schools and nearly 2.5 million dictionaries nationwide.
“An exceptional education is made up of many great moments,” said Cecil Raymer, Chairman of Civic Projects and Fundraising for the Optimist Club. “It is our hope that the use of the dictionaries helps to create some of these great moments.”
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