Nineteen years ago, Kerrville Rotary – Morning (Morning Rotary) initiated a program to annually distribute dictionaries to Ingram ISD students. For the last several years, Harper ISD was included in the distribution as well. The dictionaries are provided to the students at no cost for their personal use in order to assist them in their studies and to help prepare them for future careers.
“A dictionary is perhaps the most powerful tool a child should own. Its usefulness goes beyond spelling, pronunciation, and definitions. It’s the companion for solving problems that arise as a child develops his or her reading, writing, and creative thinking abilities. Even in this digital age, there’s just something about holding a book and knowing it yours. It thrills me after all these years when a young man or woman recognizes me and tells me they still have their dictionary,” said Nancy Riley, Morning Rotary Dictionary Project Coordinator.
Typically, enthusiastic volunteers from Morning Rotary personally distribute the dictionaries to the eager Ingram and Harper students, but due to the pandemic, they had to disappointingly settle for delivery to the schools. Morning Rotarians delivered 64 dictionaries to Ingram ISD 3 rd graders and 48 dictionaries to Harper ISD 6th graders.
“The Ingram Elementary students would like to thank Morning Rotary for again supplying third graders with dictionaries. Many of our students do not own their own so this is truly a service that will benefit our students for years to come. Our children get very excited to receive their dictionaries and actually get to take them home. Thank you for providing dictionaries to our third-grade students. Wish times were different and you could see their excited faces when they received their dictionaries,” said Donna Jenschke, Ingram Elementary Principal.
“This year, the guiding principle behind many of Morning Rotary’s service projects is ‘Inspiring Student Success.’ Today’s young people are the leaders of tomorrow. It’s our honor and privilege to assist them in preparing for service and leadership as adults,” said Ray Buck, Morning Rotary President.
Kerrville Morning Rotary meets at 6:45 a.m. every Thursday at the Kroc Center in Kerrville. Potential members and visitors are always welcome. For more information about Kerrville Morning Rotary, visit www.kerrvillemorningrotary.org