Service in Action

By Dr. Charles Grant, Rotary Club of North Shore (Houston), Texas, USA, and Chair of the International Fellowship of Rotarian Educators

More than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate. That’s 17 percent of the world’s adult population. One of Rotary’s focuses is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy. Rotary members support education for all children and literacy for children and adults. We take action to empower educators to inspire learning at all ages.

Students at Sainte Famille elementary school in Cayes, Haiti, draw pictures. The school was rebuilt after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti using funds donated to The Rotary Foundation’s Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.

Rotary Fellowships are independent groups of Rotarians, their family members, Rotaractors, alumni and program participants who share a similar interest or passion. Many of these groups are organized around a specific recreational interest, some are also organized around vocations.

The International Fellowship of Rotarian Educators is a group dedicated to promoting quality education (both public and private) as well as other types of training and development such as Continuing Education (CE), adult education, lifelong learning and more. The group consists of professional educators as well as members who have a general interest in education.

We also sponsor the Free Reading Program. The program is an online, interactive literacy program for children in kindergarten through grade level six. It is free for Rotary clubs and other groups to adopt. We encourage Rotary clubs interested in improving the quality of education in their communities to integrate this program into their basic education and literacy projects.

The program assists in developing new skills, reinforcing literary knowledge and motivating students to succeed. Children complete game-like activities and attempt to get perfect scores. Students have the ability to start at their level of comfort and can work at their own pace.

The Free Reading Program was developed by Essential Skills Advantage, a recognized leader in online children’s education. It was created by teachers with literacy expertise and uses a range of pedagogical tools to ensure comprehension and success is acquired for each student. Contact us to learn more!

If you will be attending the Rotary International Convention in Toronto, come meet us in person on Monday, 25 June in Room 803A from 14:30 to 16:00 for our annual meeting. We are planning a short networking social at the end of the meeting with the Literacy Rotary Action Group (LITRAG) to discuss common goals and potential opportunities for collaboration.

Visit our website for more information and join our fellowship today!