In 2015-2016, our club was introduced to a powerful literacy initiative—the Dictionary Project—by member June Wallace. This project quickly resonated with us, especially given our long-standing commitment to educational access through programs like the Women’s Opportunity Award (now known as Live Your Dream).
At the time, our club had also launched a book collection drive for a summer enrichment program supporting girls in Appalachia, founded by a Duke University professor. The Dictionary Project felt like a natural extension of our mission.
As we learned more, we discovered how transformative the project could be. In a low-performing Florida school district, schools were using the Illustrated Dictionary of Everyday Things to improve end-of-grade reading scores—with remarkable success. Motivated by the impact, our club began donating copies of the dictionary and accompanying Teaching Guides to support the effort.
In May 2016, at our Spring Conference, we proposed expanding the initiative across the Region for the 2017–2018 fiscal year. The idea gained traction quickly. By the 2017 conference, regional clubs had committed to the goal of supplying 400 books to the Florida school system. Impressively, 85% of the goal was met during the event itself. Some members even purchased dictionaries to use at home, and several clubs began introducing the project to their own local schools.
The enthusiasm continued into 2018–2019, with the Region agreeing to fund the printing of 5,000 dictionaries and 500 Teacher’s Guides. Our club contributed further in 2019–2020, helping to sustain the project into its third year. During this time, June Wallace secured the copyright to the current print files and, with permission from author Jan Carruthers, ensured that any partner organizations could access Carruthers’ website—where she continued to update valuable training materials on how to best use the dictionary.
Like many educational efforts, the Dictionary Project was paused when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools. However, our club remains committed to reintroducing it as a flexible literacy tool for early grade levels—one that can be used effectively by mentors and volunteers in one-on-one or small group settings.
Today, as part of Soroptimist International of the Americas’ (SIA) Big Goal Accelerator Projects, we’re exploring partnerships beyond our core Dream Programs (Live Your Dream and Dream It, Be It). The Dictionary Project remains a shining example of how grassroots efforts, community partnerships, and a shared commitment to literacy can create lasting change.