Chestnut Hill Rotary has a long history of supporting education both by providing grants for educational initiatives and through direct hands-on service projects to nearby schools that are part of The School District of Philadelphia.
In particular, the club has been purchasing new dictionaries — known as “Gazetteers” — and distributing them to several hundred 3rd grade students annually to take home. In some cases, this is one of the few books that students have of their own.
Maggie Stoeffel, Chestnut Hill Rotary Community Service Chair highlighting fun and interesting facts from the book, “A Student’s Dictionary & Animal Gazetteer.”
“When I found out the reactions that children have, I realized that it’s not just a gift, it’s access to knowledge, said Chestnut Hill Rotary member Steve Erisoty. “Their reactions just to have something of their own, I found that very touching.”
In addition to Jenks Academy for the Arts & Sciences, Eleanor C. Emlen (pictured below), and Henry H. Houston elementary, the club added this year the Anna L. Lingelbach School, located in the Germantown/Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia.
“When I first joined Chestnut Hill’s Rotary club, and I learned that one of our projects was the purchase and distribution of dictionaries to local 3rd graders, I was a bit underwhelmed,” said member, Maggie Stoeffel. “I didn’t think the children would find this gift interesting at all.”
“But then I saw the dictionaries, which are actually called, A Student’s Dictionary & Animal Gazetteer, and I took part in the distribution of them at both Jenks and Emlen elementary schools, and boy was I wrong!”
Stoeffel, who is also Chair of the Community Service Committee, realized the value in this project. “Yes, these are dictionaries, but the back third of the book is dedicated to fun facts, tables, maps and charts. The students were so excited to discover the page with American Sign Language, and they quickly figured out how to sign their names.”
According to long-time member who also serves on the Community Service Committee, Carol Bates, “The students are so excited— some have never owned their own book before and cannot believe it!”
Rotary volunteers don’t just drop off the books and go. They speak with the students and read some of the highlights of the books to increase engagement and the likelihood that they will use as a reference and learning tool.
“These are wonderful, the dictionaries were a real positive gift. They are looking at them as intently as they would a smart phone!”
“They quickly learned that Pennsylvania’s state bird is the ruffled grouse, and the Atlantic Ocean is over 11,000 feet deep It was and continues to be very gratifying to see their excitement as they devour new information.” said Stoeffel.
Lingelbach was also presented with a check for $1,000 to go toward funding the Forest Day outside education program and restoring a terrace used for their outside classroom served by over 400 students.
Rotary volunteers present check to support Forest Day at Lingelback Elementary. Pictured (l - r): Chestnut Hill Rotary members Cathy Davis; David Gary Smith; Maggie Stoeffel; Principal, Lisa Waddell; Forest Day teacher, Alison Dilworth; with Rotary member Frank Hollick and Anne Ricksecker (not pictured).
The Forest Days model is an engaging, STEM-based outdoor learning program for public school children and their teachers. Lingelbach’s teachers will be trained and supported by certified educators from the Eastern Region Forest and Nature Schools (ERAFANS), a non-profit organization specializing in outdoor education.
Students at Forest Day. Photo courtesy of ERAFANS.
Teachers conduct weekly outdoor experiences directly with children on the school grounds or nearby park. Students experience gains in academic outcomes and increased learner engagement and also benefit from improved physical fitness and overall mental wellbeing.
“Thank you all so very much for supporting our school, for the really cool dictionaries, and for generous donation to our Forest Days program, said Alison Dilworth, one of Lingelbach’s Forest Day teachers. “A couple of kids were reading the dictionary on the school yard an hour after school ended!”
“These are wonderful, the dictionaries were a real positive gift,” said Louise D’Alessandro, “They are looking at them as intently as they would a smart phone!”
D’Allesandro helped form The Friends of Lingelbach group to add support to the school leadership and kids and parents where needed. According to D’Allesandro, ‘five years ago, the school lacked even the basic supplies such as soap, copy paper, staff, or a gym. “ The school enrolls 99% economically disadvantaged students.
In addition to the book distribution, Chestnut Hill Rotary members individually volunteer time to read to students and take on larger-scale projects like refurbishing and painting classrooms in cooperation with other community organizations. Funding provided by Chestnut Hill Rotary also helped reopen the school’s library at Jenks, one of only a few dozen in The School District of Philadelphia.
Supporting education is one of Rotary International’s seven areas of focus which galvanizes its 1.4 members in 200 countries to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy. Why? More than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate. That’s 17 percent of the world’s adult population.
