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closeRotary’s support of Sumner schools goes beyond the checkbook
Sumner Rotary provides volunteers at school events bringing students and the community together
Ann Cook / for the Sumner School District
The Sumner Rotary has been part of the Sumner community since 1926.
The organization funds scholarship opportunities for students, provides senior project mentors and judges, as well as participates in school and community events like Relay for Life and the Courage Classic and supports the local food bank.
In recent years, this small town chapter of Rotary International has made a significant impact on students throughout the Sumner School District. Rotarians are putting service above self into action through club-sponsored programs that support students at all levels. Their efforts extend beyond providing much needed financial support for Sumner High School’s annual Challenge Day, Ready! for Kindergarten classes and the Rotary Dictionary Project.
By participating in each of these events as volunteers, Rotary members make a difference in the lives of our youth and experience first-hand the challenges that many young people face today.
Challenge Day’s vision is that every child lives in a world where they feel safe, loved and celebrated.
As adult facilitators, Rotarians join school administrators and other community leaders in helping to break down the separations students feel, including the generation gap.
While some students cite this experience as one that makes them feel “less alone,” others commonly refer to this experience as “one of the best days of their lives.”
Adult volunteers frequently remark that they wish this program had been available to them during their high school years. Our students benefit from Challenge Day in ways that would be difficult to replicate without the assistance of volunteers like Rotary member Pat Duffy.
The Dictionary Project purchases and delivers new dictionaries to all students in the third grade.
Not surprisingly, Rotarian Tina Pries organizes school visits with fellow club members in town to present students with their very own dictionary with an inspirational message. Pries opens each presentation with a search for the longest word in the dictionary, and closes by asking the third graders to take an oath, promising to be the best students they can be.
These dictionaries — and the requisite visit by local dignitaries — are becoming much-anticipated events at our elementary schools. And, word spreads fast among students about what the longest word is.
This year Sumner Rotary has sponsored an additional Ready! for Kindergarten class to help extend our efforts in the greater community. Because the early years matter, Rotary is now funding additional classes for parents with children ages 2 to 5 years old, expanding our services.
Rotary volunteers help deliver information and activities designed to help children acquire critical pre-literacy and pre-math skills. With financial support from Rotary, parents are given activities to enjoy at home with their child.
The Sumner Rotary Club and its members provide our students with programs that support academic success and motivate students to excel. The generous donation of their time demonstrates to the larger community the importance of youth and education.
With a history of service, Sumner Rotary provides unmatched leadership in our schools through a commitment to students.