Dictionaries spelled out for local third graders
Republican Women of St. Charles show kids there is more to it than just definitions
By: Michelle Stuckey
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Donor: Republican Women of Saint Charles

The Republican Women of St. Charles teamed up with the Dictionary Project to make sure that every 3rd-grade student in the parish received a free dictionary.The club gave out about 960 dictionaries, but the students soon realized that these were no ordinary books.
`At first, when they thought they were getting a dictionary, they weren`t that excited until they saw this dictionary,` said Rita Carlson, the club`s president. `They could see that there were a lot of really interesting things in the dictionary. Some of the kids really liked the pages about Braille and sign language, and they got a big kick out of the last page which has the lo...

Rotary Club of Pineville prepares for annual dictionary project

By: - TheTownTalk.com
Friday, October 23, 2009
Donor: Rotary Club of Pineville

Members of the Rotary Club of Pineville enclose notes and stickers in dictionaries for all fourth-grade students in schools on the north side of Rapides Parish for the Club`s annual Dictionary Project. From left, foreground, Ed Wright and Ted Lowrey; in background from left, Angela Chellette and Kirk Cooper.

Free dictionaries for kids

Thursday, October 08, 2009
Donor: Rotary Club of Beauregard/Vernon Sunrise

We received the following letter from William Gates of the Rotary Club of Pineville:

Mr. Gates,

I want to express my gratitude for the dictionaries that your Rotary Club has given to my class. My students tested on an approaching sixth grade level last year and I have no doubt in my mind that is was because of the dictionaries that were given to my class! It was so easy to tell my students whenever they asked how to spell a word, or what a word meant, I would simply tell them to pull out there dictionaries and look it up! By Christmas, they were so accustomed to using the dictionaries, it was great! Most ...

Jefferson Parish Republican Women's Club visits sixteen schools

By: Betty Corbeille letter
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Donor: Republican Women's Club of Jefferson Parish

The Republican Women`s Club of Jefferson Parish donated dictionaries at sixteen schools this year. Here is a sample of the many pictures and thank-you letters they received.

Rotary Club of Beauregard/Vernon Sunrise visits classrooms

Monday, December 08, 2008
Donor: Rotary Club of Beauregard/Vernon Sunrise

The Rotary Club of Beauregard/Vernon Sunrise continued a dictionary project begun last year, visiting students in several local elementary schools to delivery dictionaries.  They received letters of thanks from all of the children.

Big News from the Dictionary Project

By: Argiro Morgan
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Donor: Louisiana Federation of Republican Women

LFRW`S UP WITH WORDS Project is making a lot of children smile!



The Mandeville Republican Women have already delivered 144 books to Lyons Elementary School at the opening of the school year. MRWs President and Literacy Chair are -

President - Betty Oliver

Literacy Chair - Ruthanne Hilker

Assisting Ruthanne with the presentation to the children were the following members: Cynthia Sicard, Freddie Ballard, Helen Whalen, Susan Carswell, and Betty Parke.



Lynn Pablovich, Region 6 Executive Vice President , is expecting books to go out to more scho...

Find the words
Elks Lodge donates thesauruses to Caddo, Bossier fourth-graders
By: J. Manny Guendulay The (Shreveport) Times
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Donor: Shreveport Elks Lodge #122 and Louisiana State Elks Association

There are nine synonyms for `thankful` in `Webster`s Thesaurus for Students,` and Caddo and Bossier Parish fourth-graders can know them all because of a book donation from members of the state and local Elks Lodge.

On Feb. 7 and 8, the Shreveport Elks Lodge No. 122 and the Louisiana State Elks Association presented copies of the soft-back thesaurus at Arthur Circle Elementary in Shreveport, and Curtis and Waller Elementary schools in Bossier City. A total of 5,184 copies were presented to Caddo and Bossier Parish public schools, enough for all fourth-graders in the systems.

The idea for the donation started with the Lousiana...

Elks Club donates thesauruses to all Bossier Parish fourth graders

By: staff reports Bossier Press-Tribune
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Donor: Shreveport Elks Lodge #122

A thesaurus for every fourth grader in Bossier Parish Schools--that is the gift of the Shreveport Elks Lodge No. 122 in conjunction with the Louisiana Elks Association.

`This reference tool will benefit students in developing writing skills and creative thinking abilities,` said Richard Jones of Bossier City, who serves as Elks state treasurer.

Elks Lodge officers made official presentations of Webster`s Thesaurus for Students at Curtis and Waller Elementary Friday morning.

Jones, Elks Club State President Sam Echols of Shreveport, and the president of the local group, Jim Cade of Shreveport, presented the thesauruses...

Children in Beauregard grateful for Rotary Club donation

By: John Gates
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Donor: Beauregard-Vernon Sunrise Rotary Club and John Gates

In addition to my personal distribution of the dictionaries to the local Highland Mennonite School with some 13 third graders, I was the chairman for the Beauregard-Vernon Sunrise Rotary Club project for school dictionaries.

The Rotary Club provided the dictionaries to all public schools in Beauregard Parish and the Town of Rosepine Elementary School of Vernon Parish where we sponsor an Interact Club.

It was just wonderful to be a part of the program and I have copied a few of the thank you notes from the children.

In one of the schools where I was distributing the dictionaries, a little girl said something I did not ...

Update on Federation of Republican Women Project

By: Argiro Morgan
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Donor: Louisiana Federation of Republican Women

The Louisiana Federation of Republican Women has 37 individual clubs in our state. We adopted The Dictionary Projrect as our major literacy project across the state. This was the first time that our entire federation was encouraged to adopt the same literacy project. The Project has been a winner--among our members, in communities all over the state, and, of course, with children.

The accompanying pictures were taken by Gisela Chevalier, who took it upon herself to furnish first-generation American, Spanish-speaking children with Spanish/English dictionaries in her community, Kenner, Louisiana. You can read her thoughts about the...

GOP women reach out to third-graders
Enthusiasm builds for Up with Words
By: Earl Hodges, Contributing writer Metairie Picayune
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Donor: Republican Women`s Club of Jefferson Parish

The Republican Women`s Club of Jefferson Parish has set a goal of providing Merriam-Webster dictionaries to every third-grader in Jefferson Parish`s public schools in East Jefferson.

`Louisiana ranks 49th among all the states in the quality of education,` said Betty Corbeille, president of the club. `We want to do everything we can to help children improve their education. And it doesn`t start with high school. You have to begin in elementary school.`

The idea of providing dictionaries to third-graders originated with the National Federation of Republican Women, which passed the idea on to the state organizations and local...

Mayor Grace Adopts 2nd Graders

Saturday, April 01, 2006
Donor: Mayor George Grace

East Iberville second graders have been adopted by St. Gabriel Mayor George Grace. The Mayor helped 2nd graders complete a KWL chart on St. Gabriel for a social studies project. He answered questions on the histoy, current status, and future growth of the City of St. Gabriel. Then Mayor Grace surprised each 2nd grader with a personal dictionary and also pledged to buy them as many books as theu could read. The Mayo also pledged to fund two field trips, one educational one and one for fun, by the end of the school year for good behavior.

Looking up words

Thursday, March 16, 2006
Donor: Ruston Rotary Club

The Rotary Club has provided a student dictionary for every third-grader at Ruston Elementary containing a resource guide. RIGHT: Pictured accepting these on behalf of the students are (front row left to right) Dasha, Alan and Javon. On the back row (left to right) are Rotarian John Buske, RES Principal Sonja Walker and Rotary President Bruce Wilson.

Banks family recognized for developing Dictionary Project

By: KELLY MOORE/Staff Writer Leesville Daily Leader
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Donor: The Banks Family

Col. (Ret.) Willie Banks and his wife Eunice began the Dictionary Project in Vernon Parish Schools three years ago.

The Dictionary Project is an international program which gives every student a dictionary of their own.

The project began in 1992 when Annie Plummer of Savannah , Ga. gave 50 dictionaries to children who attended a school in her area.

Between 1992 and 1999 when Plummer died she bought and donated more than 17,000 dictionaries to school age children.

The program that she developed by donating dictionaries has grown to an international program where third grade students world wid...

New Dictionaries

Friday, December 23, 2005
Donor: The Busy Bees

Debbie Sassone`s third-grade class at O.W. Dillon Elementary School in Kentwood show off the new dictionaries they received from
the Busy Bees Volunteers for Family and Community chapter as part of their 2004-05 Dictionary Project. Students include Lateshai, Dantravon, James, Latondria, Sharnetia, Shonronda, Christopher, Archie, Devin, Darnelia, Tarrandon, Marquitta, Jasmin, Archie, Devin and Tanisha. Making the presentation were Busy Bees Fay Ruth Hancock and Terry Voight.

Supplies reach teachers Donated items to be used by displaced kids

Thursday, October 06, 2005
Donor: Kean Miller Law Firm

Teachers and principals in East Baton Rouge Parish spent time choosing school supplies from among rows of boxes filled with items donated to help children displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Two weeks ago, some of these same people grabbed supplies at the school system`s main warehouse on Choctaw Drive.

`We really appreciate it,` Istrouma High School guidance counselor Ben Taylor said. `We have about 90 new kids.`

Wanda Crump, the community relations facilitator at Prescott Middle School, was rifling through boxes looking mainly for staples.. As of Tuesday, the school had 54 new Katrina st...

Dictionary Project South Carolina Project Reaches Elementary Students Nationwide with Dictionaries

By: Sonny Marks American Press
Saturday, January 01, 2005
Donor: Dictionary Project

The project is simple: Donate money for elementary students to receive dictionaries. You pick the school. Students get their own paperback dictionaries to take home.



It began nine years ago in a home in Charleston , SC. Since then, more than a million dictionaries have been distributed around the nation. Dictionary Project founder and leader Mary French estimates that 15 percent of the nation`s third-graders have been reached.

French doesn`t solicit donations. The Dictionary Project has spread by media and word of mouth.



Lake Charles corrosion engineer Rick Clark read about it in ...

Firm hopes dictionaries make difference

By: CHARLES LUSSIER - clussier@theadvocate.com Advocate staff writer
Saturday, January 01, 2005
Donor: Law firm of Kean Miller Hawthorne D`Armond McCowan & Jarman, LLP

Mary French, right, director of The Dictionary Project, shows off her own personal dictionary Wednesday to Natka Varisco, left, and Susan Major, center, paralegals from the Baton Rouge law firm Kean Miller Hawthorne D`Armond McCowan and Jarman, LLP. Joey LeBlanc, another paralegal with the firm, is in the background.



Carolyn Jones passed Eden Park Elementary School many times on her way to church without realizing what was there. On Wednesday, she and fellow paralegal Shelita Sneed paid the school a visit. They brought with them a truffle for the principal, candy for the teachers and four bags full of red paperbac...

Southwest Daily News on the web
Dictionaries donated to third grade students
Friday, October 01, 2004
Donor: Law firm of Kean Miller Hawthorne D`Armond McCowan & Jarman, LLP

On Wednesday, Jan. 14, thousands of third grade students in Calcasieu Parish will receive a personal dictionary as part of a regional education project sponsored by Kean, Miller, Hawthorne, D`Armond, McCowan & Jarman, LLP (Kean Miller Law Firm). Lawyers, paralegals and staff managers from the Louisiana law firm have purchased the dictionaries through The Dictionary Project, a nationally acclaimed grass-roots organization. The Kean Miller employees will deliver bags of personalized dictionaries to the Calcasieu Parish school principals at their January meeting. The Louisiana Resource Center for Educators assisted Kean Miller ...