For the past 12 years, the Rotary Club of Goleta Noontime has partnered with The Dictionary Project in Charleston, South Carolina, to provide a dictionary to every third-grade student in the Goleta Union School District. Since 2009, 5,640 dictionaries have been provided to district students.

This year’s third-graders are receiving their dictionaries this month.

The dictionaries support vocabulary and language development, expand word choice for writing, support research skills, and build independence, said Donna Lewis, superintendent of the Goleta Union School District. In some cases, this may be the first book a student owns, she said.

In pre-pandemic years, club members have had an opportunity to visit a school campus and meet students, teachers and staff during the dictionary distribution. There’s always a lot of excitement and energy in the rooms when we visit.
 
The Rotary Club of Goleta Noontime has been serving the Goleta Valley since 1987. For more information on the club, its programs and initiatives, and how to take part, visit https://www.facebook.com/GoletaNoontimeRotaryClub/.