Rotarians give dictionaries to Merced students

Merced Rotary Club members have been busy this month delivering dictionaries to more than 1,200 students across Merced City School District as part of an annual event.

Rotary members visit every elementary school to hand out “A Student’s Dictionary” to third-grade students and point out particular features, such as the longest word in the English language. They also encourage students to read.

“We truly enjoy handing out the dictionaries, and the students are always excited to receive them,” Merced Rotary President Vinton Thengvall said in a news release. “We realize our community has many underprivileged families who may not have dictionaries or other books at home. This is one way our club is able to help local children while continuing our efforts to support literacy and education.”

The Rotarians also shared the organization’s “Four Way Test,” which asks about truth, fairness, building goodwill and friendships and how others benefit.

This story was originally published October 12, 2016 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Rotarians give dictionaries to Merced students."