Beach third graders receive dictionary gifts
Three members of the Rotary Club of Sanibel-Captiva disseminated dictionaries to students in Beach Elementary School’s third grade class on Friday.
Miss Zamniak’s 17 students appreciated the free gifts and the kind gestures on the part of the local Rotarians, who have delivered dictionaries to schools across Lee County for at least eight years now.
Rotarian Scott Herzoff explained that there are Rotary clubs world-wide with both men and women in the club.
Rotary Clubs across Lee County deliver dictionaries to elementary schools every year to promote literacy. The Rotary Club of Sanibel-Captiva visited The Sanibel School with brand new dictionaries on Friday.
“What we do is help people and groups all around the world,” he said. “For example, we have purchased a container of wheel chairs that we have sent to Guatemala. We go to many cities in these nations that don’t have fresh water and build wells so that they can have fresh water to drink.
Every dollar raised by the Rotary Club of Sanibel-Captiva is used directly to meet an identified need. All of the administrative activities in each club is handled by member-volunteers or paid for by member dues.
“Maybe when you get older, you will consider joining our club to help people world-wide,” said Herzoff.
The gift will hopefully enhance each student’s learning education. Not only did students get English language dictionaries, four of the 17 received Spanish/English dictionaries for their Spanish speaking parents.
The gift dictionary book features a comprehensive dictionary, biography of U.S. Presidents, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, facts about planets in the solar system, maps of seven continents, information about 50 states and weights and measures.
The Rotarians helped the students look up certain words to get a feel for the book.
Between 2006 and 2012, the club donated over $260,000 to various charities, a majority of which are located on Sanibel Island. Other donations went to organizations in Fort Myers and internationally for clean water in Haiti, Tanzania, and Peru, to name a few.
For more information, visit sanibelrotary.org.