Bill and Lorna Boyd Charitable Trust – Rotary Dictionary Project

Every year we help thousands of children to improve their literacy and realise their potential

How Can You Help?

A personalised Pictorial Dictionary for every student.

Make a donation

You want to make a difference and the person or group you wish to help is active in Australasia and the Pacific, in the field of education of our young.

Become a Rotarian

It is hard to question the validity of any project that aims to improve the literacy of our children. Just one of the areas where being a Rotarian helps humanity.

Give a gift!

Our focus is “one to few” type interactions in junior schools. We provide personalised dictionaries to students in lower socio-economic areas.

Dictionaries & Atlas’ in Schools Program

In 2008 the Bill and Lorna Boyd Charitable Trust, in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Pakuranga Inc., implemented a Rotary Dictionary Project for NZ. The intent was that Rotary Clubs throughout NZ would supply Year 4 students (8 to 9 year olds), in low decile schools, with their own named copy of an illustrated dictionary. The dictionary chosen has proven to be superb with a huge uptake by Rotary Clubs nationwide. It is the ‘Usborne Illustrated Dictionary’ which retails for around $30.00. It is not a traditional dictionary, but rather one that contains more than 1,000 colourful illustrations. Since inception, more than 200,000 have been distributed throughout New Zealand equating to a retail value in excess of $5 million.

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The project, which is an on-going one every year, fits well with Rotary International’s worldwide goal of ‘literacy development’. It has the support of all the District Governors throughout N.Z. As expected not only is the dictionary being used by the Year 4 students, but that, by getting it into their homes, Mums and Dads come to use it as well. It is a great literacy aid in homes where reference books are often few and far between.

This is another great Rotary Club of Pakuranga Inc. project. It has helped tens of thousands of children throughout the country as well as many in the Pacific Islands.

LITERACY

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” ― Frederick Douglass

“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development, an essential complement to investments in roads, dams, clinics and factories. Literacy is a platform for democratization, and a vehicle for the promotion of cultural and national identity. Especially for girls and women, it is an agent of family health and nutrition. For everyone, everywhere, literacy is, along with education in general, a basic human right…. Literacy is, finally, the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential.”