Rotary Goes Back to School
Extra! Extra! Read All About It! Members of the Rotary Club of Beaumont prepared personalized bags of books and distributed them to students at Martin Elementary.
The Rotary Club of Beaumont began a partnership with Martin Elementary after Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
“It has been amazing to see the growth in the students,” said club president Cindy Cherry. “We started distributing bags of books with first graders in 2018 and have seen the same students each year. They are so excited to receive chapter books now.”
The project, made possible by funds from the Beaumont Rotary Foundation, helps support the Rotary International Literacy Area of Focus. In its fourth year, the group of students are now fourth-graders.
“Providing books for students at Martin Elementary has been one of our most rewarding projects,” said Cherry. “We enjoyed walking with them as first-graders and helping them choose books. It’s been a pleasure getting to know them and seeing their reading skills increase.”
The timing of the project, headed by Rotarian and former Martin Elementary educator Lynn Hill, will help students avoid learning loss during the summer break.
“We truly appreciate our relationship with Martin and working with principal Tamara Long and assistant principal Ariane Moore,” said Cherry. “Students at the campus know who we are and know Rotary. We feel like they are our kids and seeing them make reading strides is a blessing.”
Each student received a backpack with 10 books, followed by an ice cream cup. “We had a record number of volunteers show up at Martin,” said Cherry. “It was so good to see the students and talk about books.”
While at Martin, Rotarians stepped down the hall for a preview of the empty room that will soon transform into a Cardinal NEST, sponsored by the club.