You believe every child and individual deserves the power of literacy. We give you the platform to fuel their potential.

 
The Invisible Challenge in Our Community
 
Summit County is a beautiful place to live, but a hidden literacy gap exists right under the surface of our mountain towns:

  • The Summer Slide: Without access to engaging books, local elementary students lose critical reading stamina over the long summer break.

  • Underfunded Classrooms: Tight school budgets leave local teachers without the resources they need for specialized learning centers and bilingual books.

  • Isolated Voices: Passionate creative writers, students, and multicultural neighbors lack a supportive platform to share their stories and elevate our community culture.

You believe that no child or neighbor should be left behind simply because they lack access to the power of words. We agree.

For over a decade, the Rotary Club of Summit County has stepped into local classrooms, libraries, and international schools to break down learning barriers. Through structured grants, volunteer programs, and community creative writing contests, we amplify your generosity to create a lasting legacy of literacy.

“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. Please reach out if you are interested in helping!
 
 
 
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.
 
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.
 
WRITE THE ROCKIES
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.

Learn More

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.

Learn about other International Projects
BILINGUAL BOOKS FOR BABIES
 
Developing early reading skills can be fund for everyone! Each year, over 300 children and their families are invited to choose from a selection of bilingual books at the Adopt an Angel event. Parents are encouraged to pick books from a curated display that they will read together with their children, learning a second language. 

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CURIOUS ABOUT OUR LITERACY PROGRAMS?