Courtesy - Heritage Fund.
COLUMBUS, Ind. – After nearly two decades of providing “a little yellow” gift to every third-grader in the county, organizers have announced they are closing the books on the annual “Dictionary Project.”
Since its start nearly 20 years ago, more than 20,000 dictionaries, including Spanish and Japanese versions, have been distributed to area third-graders in public, private, and homeschool classrooms as well as adult literacy and English language programs.
But, partners have decided improvements in technology since the project began have lessened the demand for paperback dictionaries as a quick reference tool.
The local “Dictionary Project” was made possible through annual grant funding from Heritage Fund and distributed by Bartholomew Retired Teachers Association with support from IUPUC Center for Teaching and Learning. In 2004, Lyn Morgan, former grants manager at Heritage Fund, researched the national program and brought the idea to CTL for help with offering it locally.
The partners believed reading was the most important skill for students to master and hoped the dictionaries helped children expand their vocabularies, encouraging them to “look it up!” Nationally more than 35 million third-graders have received personal dictionaries as part of the program.
As part of its strategic impact area of positive Youth Development, Heritage Fund will continue to explore opportunities to support students in the community.
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