Kiwanis Club of Mt. Pleasant donates dictionaries

Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, Morning Sun
http://www.themorningsun.com/articles/2009/04/24/life/srv0000005184529.txt

Minutes after receiving their new dictionaries from The Kiwanis Club of Mt. Pleasant, the third graders in Marge Sheppard's room at Pullen School put them to good use looking up words like "volunteer," "service" and "community."

Sheppard's class was one of 18 local third grade classes to receive complimentary junior dictionaries from the Kiwanis Club. In all, over 400 dictionaries were distributed at eight local schools.

The distribution of dictionaries in the Mt. Pleasant area is part of a worldwide Kiwanis program called The Dictionary Project. This is the first year the local Kiwanis Club has joined in The Dictionary Project, and President Jan Fokens said it will become an annual event.

"The response we received from students and teachers was phenomenal," he said. "We appreciate the opportunity to open doors for future learning."

The dictionary, a special-issue for youngsters, is a 524-page paperback book featuring commonly used words, in addition to maps of the seven continents, information about the 50 states, biographies of U.S. Presidents, text of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution and a table of weights and measures.

Steven Campbell is the local Kiwanis Club member who organized the distribution effort.

"It's awesome that we could give these great resource books to third graders. They were thrilled to keep them for their very own," he said.

Campbell reported the kids were very appreciative, with many classes offering rounds of applause and one Vowles School class singing a song of thanks to the Kiwanis Members.

The Kiwanis Club of Mt. Pleasant invested over $500 in The Dictionary Project.