Macon 2021-22
Macon Rotary Club Literacy Initiative
The Macon Rotary Club sponsored two literacy projects with its grant funds. The first project, Read for the Record, involved our club providing age-appropriate books for 460 students at Burdell-Hunt Elementary school. This project took place in October 2021 at the school. Burdell-Hunt serves a segment of our community with a high incidence of poverty. The second project, Book ’Em, provided over 130 books to be given to students by law enforcement officers as those students encountered those officers. These books will not be given out all at once, but as officers make contact with students in their regular duties.
Students (590) benefited from receiving books that are their own to take home, read, and enjoy. Moreover, those students who may not have access to quality reading material also benefited. Both students and law enforcement officers benefited, in as much as giving a child a book creates a positive interaction between an officer and a young person and helps affirm the image of an officer as a person who is there to help.
Nine Rotarians helped distribute the books for Read for the Record and handed out each of the 460 books. The number of Rotarians who could participate was limited due to Covid protocols. An additional Rotarian assisted in selecting the book given to the students.
Our club partnered with Read for the Record which organizes sponsors to buy books and schools where those books will have an impact. Book ’Em is a program of the Bibb County Sheriff’s department. Bibb Sheriff’s deputies will distribute the books as they interact with the public in their duties.
Macon 2020-21
MACON ROTARY CLUB
Opens Opportunities Through Literacy
The Rotary Club of Macon acknowledges that literacy is vital to economic development as well as its community well-being. The club is committed to “Service above Self“ and to the mission and goals of Rotary International related to alleviating illiteracy. By partnering with United Way of Central Georgia, the Rotary Club of Macon supports Burdell-Hunt Elementary School‘s efforts in increasing their students‘ literacy rates.
Read United, an initiative of United Way of Central Georgia, addresses the literacy challenges facing Central Georgia. Read United recruits volunteers to tutor kindergarten through third grade students in reading. Through tutoring, volunteers help children increase their reading literacy, become a positive influence in the child‘s life, and improve the overall health and wellness of our community Read United, together with the volunteers of our community, aims to close achievement gaps, increase graduation rates, and disrupt the cycle of poverty. The Rotary Club of Macon has solicited Rotarians to commit to becoming reading volunteers at Burdell-Hunt Elementary.
In addition, United Way sponsors multiple reading celebrations for the elementary schools in the Bibb County School District. One of those celebrations is Jumpstart‘s Read for the Record. Read for the Record brings together millions of adults and children around the world each year to read the same book on the same day in order to raise awareness about the critical importance of early literacy and access to high-quality books. This year Read for the Record will take place on October 29, 2020. The Rotary Club of Macon was awarded a District Grant to enhance our support of this literacy initiative. With the funds, the club will purchase the Read for the Record book titled Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away. Each Burdell-Hunt Elementary student will receive a copy of the book to enjoy at home with family after a Rotarian reads to the class.
This is a great opportunity for students to encounter support from community members. The students, administrators and staff will recognize that the Rotary Club of Macon has a vested interest in our local students‘ well-being.
