LITERACY
Our Nonprofit Literacy Program in Frisco, Colorado
Our Nonprofit Literacy Program in Frisco, Colorado
Our Nonprofit Literacy Program in Frisco, Colorado
ROTARY SUMMER READS
This exciting new literacy project provides third grade students with the opportunity to choose books with themes that reflect Rotary values. In April, students select from among 21 books for their own personal summer reading. The books are distributed in May. Each is age-appropriate and appealing to the third grade reading level.
SHORT STORY AND POETRY CONTESTS
Every spring, the Literacy Committee and the Summit Daily News sponsor short story and poetry contests for high school-aged students. Award certificates and monetary prizes are given to the winners of both contests, who read their stories and poems at a Rotary meeting. The winners’ names and photos are printed in the paper, and winning entries are posted online by the Summit Daily News.
“READING BUDDY” PROGRAM
The Literacy Committee sponsors an on-going “Reading Buddy” program for all six elementary schools in the County. Volunteers who love to read are paired with students to support the development of their reading skills. Reading buddies offer encouragement and support to students in the process of becoming successful readers. Volunteers are given two books to offer each of the teachers with whom they work. Each year the volunteers are honored at a weekly Rotary meeting in the spring. Anyone interested in participating in this literacy program may contact Mary Anne Johnston - majohnstoncolo@gmail.com
INTERGENERATIONAL STORY TELLING PROJECT
The Intergenerational Story Telling Project pairs adults at Timberline Adult Care Center with students from The Peak School who share stories with each other, talking about their lives, significant experiences and interests. Students receive extracurricular elective credit for their twice-a-week interactions with Timberline participants. Students share their experiences at a Rotary meeting in the spring.
LITERACY GRANTS FOR SUMMIT SCHOOLS
Since 2012, the Literacy Committee and Summit Daily News have contributed funds to the Summit School District for Literacy Grants in classrooms, libraries, and home providers. In addition, grant funding is provided to The Peak School and Summit County Preschools. The requests vary from year to year, but funds have gone towards bolstering learning centers, buying books and storage facilities, and building bilingual libraries.
HONORARIUM BOOKS FOR SPEAKERS
The Literacy Committee donates children’s books to schools and libraries throughout the county in honor of each of the club’s weekly speakers. A review of this program indicates that we have donated at least 540 books since 2008.
PRECOLLEGIATE MENTORING PROGRAM
This past year our Rotary Club assisted Summit County Middle and High Schools in providing two volunteers in the precollegiate mentoring program that serves approximately 80 students whose parents have not completed college.
FAMILY LITERACY FAIRS
Twice a year, Early Childhood Options, Family Intercultural Resource Center (FIRC), Colorado Mountain College, Head Start, and our Rotary Club provide Family Literacy Fairs for young children and their families. Summit Rotary provides two free books to each young child during the Family Literacy Fairs in both the spring and fall.
GUATEMALA LITERACY PROJECT
Since 2012 The Rotary Club of Summit County has donated funds (matched at the district and international levels) to the Guatemala Literacy Project(GLP) for their outreach activities in elementary and secondary schools in Guatemala. This project is a partnership between North American and Guatemalan Rotary clubs and the non-profit organization, Cooperative for Education. The GLP promotes lifelong reading and writing skills in Guatemala by providing badly-needed textbooks, reading materials, and computers to impoverished schools. The goal is to ensure that no child in Guatemala grows up without the gift of both traditional and technological literacy. In 2013 we were the lead club for the Global Grant to support this project. Our members continue to participate in the annual tours to bring educational resources to schools in Guatemala.