Rotary Club of Rancho Mirage distributes dictionaries, thesauruses to students

The Rancho Mirage Rotary Club is distributing dictionaries and thesauruses to Rancho Mirage Elementary School students Tuesday as part of a regional Rotary project.

The club’s annual project, which has run for more than 20 years, provides third-grade students with dictionaries and teaches them about the work of a Rotary Club, said Betty Teoman, a club member and volunteer coordinator. This year, fourth-grade students will also be given thesauruses.

The project costs the Rancho Mirage Rotary Club around $500 to $600 each year, Teoman said. The students are able to take the books home and keep them as their own.

“The children are so enthusiastic,” Teoman said. “In some cases, it’s their first book.”

The club has already presented dictionaries to third graders at Della Lindley Elementary and Cielo Vista Charter. Other club chapters in the community provide the dictionary program for neighboring schools.

The Rancho Mirage Rotary Club is part of Rotary International, a organization that provides humanitarian service through chapters around the world.

“One of the purposes of a Rotary Club is to do what we can in the community,” Teoman said, adding that providing the students with books gives them a “good foundation” in life.

The event will start at 9 a.m. in the multipurpose room at Rancho Mirage Elementary School.

KESQ