Photo courtesy of the Kiwanis Club of Botetourt
The use of a physical dictionary can help grow a young reader’s confidence differently than a simple word search on a child’s digital device. At the beginning of this school year, the Kiwanis Club of Botetourt delivered dictionaries to more than 320 students at each of the seven elementary in the county.
John Plenge, club president, had the opportunity to personally hand out dictionaries at Buchanan Elementary. He said, “The surprise gift brought glee to their faces. It was a joy to answer one student, “Yes, you can put your name in the dictionary.”
Every year for the past 20 years, the Kiwanis Club of Botetourt has given each third-grade student a dictionary. One teacher who was raised in the county said she still has her Kiwanis dictionary at home. The teacher told her class, “Receiving this dictionary, means you are really in third grade!”
Some of the resources used to purchase the dictionaries came from donations collected at the Kiwanis’s designated parking lot at the Lord Botetourt home football games. Plenge said local and visiting fans at the games have been generous. Also, the Verizon Pioneers have consistently worked with the Kiwanis on this service project.
A focus of the local Kiwanis club is to serve the education needs of the county. Individuals or groups interested in joining a Kiwanis service project can contact Plenge at (540) 855-7761 or through the club’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/botetourtkiwanis/.
~ The Fincastle Herald