Positive Detroit, Local Female Bloggers, and Operation: Kid Equip Collaborating to Provide Dictionaries for Area 3rd Graders

Part of my job here at Detroit Moxie is to tell you about cool things going on in metro Detroit. The other, and more important part is to try and make a difference in the lives of others.

Female bloggers from the local Detroit area are joining PositiveDetroit.Net, in collaboration with Operation: Kid Equip, to provide at least 25% of Oakland County Schools with dictionaries for third graders.

Erin Rose of Positive Detroit, Nikki Stephan of Essential Elements, Jennifer Wright of Looking Glass Lane, Lauren Weber of Staircase to Earth's Loveliness and I spend much of our time writing on our respective blogs. We want to help give the same opportunities to local students as we were given in our writing classes as children. We want to help our local students become better writers.

With the assistance of Operation: Kid Equip and its participation with The Dictionary Project, we will be distributing dictionaries specifically written for third graders who are at the dividing line between learning to read and reading to learn.

Now through March 15, 2010, we are raising money to provide roughly 2,700 third graders in Oakland County with brand new dictionaries. To give you an idea of the impact you can make, for a $20 donation, you can supply at least 8 third graders with dictionaries. 

An anonymous donor has graciously offered to match donations, dictionary-for-dictionary, up to the first 100 dictionaries. Can you just see the excitement on their faces and hear the kids when they receive these gifts? Just think - your donation today can double the amount of children that are being served tomorrow. 

I was a funny kid and I don’t mean that I was a comedian. I went to kindergarten when I was four and was sent to the first grade class for reading during recess. I was advanced, they said. It didn’t bother me one bit that I missed recess. I loved reading! Yes, I was that kid. The written word took me on adventures and showed me endless possibilities. In third grade I found a book I adored, “Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or, There Must Be More To Life” by Maurice Sendak. I checked that book out of the library continually. For three years! I mean, I don’t think any of the other kids even saw the book, let alone had a chance to check it out. I told you, I was that kid. These days I spend much of my time writing and it’s hard. If I didn’t have the use of a dictionary you would find many more errors than you already do. I want children to have the tools to become the best writers they can be.

Here is how you can help:

1. Click Here to make a PayPal donation for $100, $50, $20 or $10 

2. Mail a check payable to:

Operation: Kid Equip
PO Box 364
Royal Oak, MI  48068-0364

Be sure to write Dictionary Project in the memo line.

3. Contact menachem@operationkidequip.org to make a credit card or
other form of payment outside of PayPal.

4. If you would like to join the female bloggers collaboration
with your blog, contact Erin Rose at positivedetroit@gmail.com.

About Operation: Kid Equip
As an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit community benefit organization, we realize that to break the cycle of poverty and hopelessness, we have to meet some very basic, yet overlooked needs. Operation: Kid Equip acts as a conduit for collecting and distributing tangible educational and school supplies to school-aged children. Operation: Kid Equip effects long term improvement in the community by providing at-risk kids with the core necessities they need to prosper in school and in life. Visit our website at www.operationkidequip.org

About The Dictionary Project
The Dictionary Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The goal of this program is to assist all students in completing the school year as good writers, active readers and creative thinkers by providing students with their own personal dictionary. The dictionaries are a gift to each student to use at school and at home for years to come.