London East Dictionary Project

J.P. Robarts Public School

On December 13th at Lorne Avenue Public School in London, Ontario, Rotary Clubs completed distribution of  902 dictionaries in east London and Dorchester, to Grade 3 pupils and school staff.  All were well received at the 15 Public and 9 Catholic schools involved. The above picture is of London East Vice-President Bob Mann, with excited pupils at J. P. Robarts Public School.  This was a part of a city-wide District 6330 Area 4 project in 2011, which saw almost 5,200 Grade 3 (and some English as a Second Language) students receive a dictionary. This follows on 1,500 books in 2009 and almost 3,000 in 2010. The Canadian edition of A Student's Dictionary and Gazetteer has been well received in the schools as it also covers our history, politics and geography - and our spelling!

ESL Students with their Dictionaries 

The project was led by ADG Doug Burnard (London North) and Rotarian Sue Storie (Hyde Park) and the support of a District 6330 Simplified Grant. This year over 2,400,000 dictionaries have been donated to Grade 3 pupils in North America via The Dictionary Project in South Carolina.

Lorne Avenue Public School

Submitted by: 
Jim Blair, Chair
Community Service Committee, 
Rotary Club of London East

Literacy Surveys Say...

Recent surveys by Ipsos Reid Research reveals:

• 6 out of 10 (62%) Canadian Parents say They'd like to Spend More Time Helping Their Child Learn at Home. (January 10, 2012).
• 9 out of 10 (90%) Canadians 'Agree' that Improving Literacy Levels in Canada is Key to Improving the Country's Economy. (August 18, 2010).
• Three quarters (72%) of Working Canadians Believe that Current Levels of Adult Literacy in Canada are a Problem. (June 23, 2009).

Source: Ipsos Reid Research

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

A story about the people who devote their lives to books and the books who return the favour.  One of five animated short films nominated in 2011 for an Academy Award.

Books have always been the place where you can rediscover your dreams when the world has stolen them from you.

Rotary International Afghanistan School

Canadian Rotarians have been building a school in Afghanistan. Watch the video, buy a bracelet, download the song, and find out more about this project at www.AfghanistanSchool.ca.

Comic Books - Literacy's Magic Bullet.

Comic books are a way to inspire a passion for reading in both children and adults. Comics have traditionally had a bad reputation among educators as "junk food for the brain".

Comics are a diverse, misunderstood medium that, for too long, have been the dirty little secret of the literary world. From the immigrant who learns English by reading Superman comics to the child who develops a love of literature from the Spiderman, comics have kept kids reading for decades with fantastic tales, well structured stories and amazing fantasies.

Rotary Clubs might wish to consider launching comic book literacy projects in conjunction with their local schools. They are relatively cheap at about $2 per issues and easily obtained in most communities. 

Room To Read

Room to Read is an international organization that works in collaboration with communities and local governments in developing countries to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children. Its programs supports girls' education, school libraries, book publishing, school construction, reading and writing instruction.  to complete secondary school with the life skills they’ll need to succeed in school and beyond. They are currently active in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zambia.


Rotary Clubs looking for literacy projects might consider further investigating Room To Read at www.roomtoread.org.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

In 1996, Dolly Patron launched a literacy program for children in her home county in east Tennessee. She wanted to foster a love of reading in pre-school children and their families. She gave a brand new, age appropriate book each month to every child under 5 years old in her county and mailed it directly to their home.

The program was an incredible success and Imagination Library was launched across the United States. In November 2006, the program was expanded to Canada.

Numerous Rotary Clubs have partnered with Imagination Library to bring literacy to their communities.

For more information about the program and how it works visit Dolly Parton's Imagination Library website at: http://imaginationlibrary.com