Dictionary Project

In a world where information and misinformation are literally just a click away, the Meyersdale Lions Club is determined to provide students with tools that can truly transform their education and their lives. For a fourth year, the local service organization has provided dictionaries for third grade students at the Meyersdale Area Elementary School (MAES).

Members of the Lions Club visited MAES on February 16 to make the presentation to all students in third grade. Their gift was accepted with great enthusiasm, as students were challenged to look up words and discover, for themselves, the limitless knowledge contained in the books. The presentation was made possible through a partnership with the nationwide program, the Dictionary Project.

Stacy Kucenic, MAES library media specialist, organized this program and, through the assistance of district superintendent Dr. Tracey Karlie, secured a sponsorship with the Meyersdale Lions Club. Karlie is also a member of the local service organization.

The mission of the Dictionary Project is to “assist all students in becoming good writers, active readers, creative thinkers, and resourceful learners by providing them with their own personal dictionary. The dictionaries are a gift for each student to use at school and at home for years to come. Educators see third grade as the dividing line between learning to read and reading to learn, so we encourage our sponsors to give dictionaries each year to children in the third grade.”

According to Karlie, this project is just one of many designed to serve the community.

“The Lions are always looking for ways to help in the community and this is one of the projects the Meyersdale Lions have picked over the past few years to support student learning.”

“Each dictionary featured a Lions Club sticker inside the cover to help remind students who donated the book and make them aware of our group as a service organization. We always look forward to middle and high school students helping at the Pancake Shack during the Maple Festival,” added Karlie.

Kucenic said the program is invaluable and she hopes it continues to be a tradition here at MAES.

“We began this program right before the pandemic and we are so glad it’s back! This is a tradition that I would like to continue for years to come,” she explained. “The Dictionary Project is a nonprofit organization, with a great historical background. The program has been sponsored by our local Meyersdale Lions Club. Community engagement can foster opportunities to support our students.”

Kucenic said the focus on third graders is based on research indicating this particular age group is when students transition from learning to read to reading to learn.

The idea for The Dictionary Project began in 1992 when Annie Plummer of Savannah, Georgia, gave 50 dictionaries to children who attended a school close to her home. Each year she continued to give this gift, raising money to help give more and more books, so that in her lifetime she raised enough money to buy 17,000 dictionaries for children in Savannah. Soon her project gained the attention of others and support grew quickly. A nonprofit association was formed in 1995, and The Dictionary Project was born.

Through sponsors, like the Meyersdale Lions Club, the Dictionary Project provides  dictionaries and other reference books to children in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Canada and more than 15 other countries around the world.

During the presentation by Karlie and two of his fellow Lions, Barry Yoder and Blake Henry, exclamations of delight could be heard throughout the class as they began pursuing their new reference books.

Henry, Lions Club Treasurer, said he is proud to be part of this initiative and is encouraged by the enthusiasm demonstrated by students.

“It’s wonderful to see books in the hands of students knowing we are helping them with their education now and throughout their school careers.”