Submitted by Westfield Lions Club
The Westfield Lions Club continues a local tradition of giving every Westfield Washington Schools third grader a free dictionary. This year, more than 770 books were delivered to all elementary schools in the city.
After a two-year break due to COVID, the Club reinstated this special project. Lions Club Secretary Jeff Larrison leads the effort and does a presentation at each school to the young students. Each is told they will receive a personal copy, giving the kids a sense of ownership to the Merriam-Webster volume.
Lion Gary Smith passes out dictionaries to the kids. (Photo provided by Westfield Lions Club)
“It is amazing – we have kids that got a dictionary from the Lions as third graders that are now in high school and still use it,” Larrison said, “This is a project close to our hearts as Lions.”
Several teachers use the Lions’ contribution as an opportunity to introduce the uses of a dictionary as part of the curriculum to the youngsters. The Lions started this program in 2012 with just 566 books. The total number of dictionaries donated since inception is 5,548.
About the Lions
Lions Clubs International is a non-political service organization of over 1.7 million members worldwide, established originally in 1917 in Chicago by Melvin Jones. It now has over 46,000 local clubs in more than 200 countries worldwide.
The Lions’ motto is “We Serve.” Local Lions Club programs include sight conservation, hearing, and speech conservation, diabetes awareness, youth outreach, international relations, environmental issues, and many other programs.