The Rotary theme for September is Basic Education and Literacy, one of our 7 areas of focus. Rotary clubs all over the world are taking action to enhance basic education and literacy in their communities and every community has different needs and different opportunities to serve. The United Nations estimates that without additional measures, 84 million children and young people will be out of school by 2030, and approximately 300 million students will lack the basic numeracy and literacy skills necessary for success in life. Rotary’s global basic education and literacy strategy emphasizes the importance of getting children the numeracy and literacy skills they need while they’re still in school.
Many of our D5000 Clubs have projects with schools. These clubs provided school supplies via drives or donations : East Honolulu, Ewa Beach, Mililani, Downtown Honolulu at Fisher, Honolulu, Honolulu Sunrise, Kauai, Kahala Sunrise at Walmart, Kaneohe at Windward Mall, Kapolei at Walmart Kapolei, West Honolulu, West Pearl Harbor, South Hilo, Lahaina Sunrise and Sunset joined together to do a drive at the Lahaina Cannery. Kapolei Rotary is purchasing books to read at local schools and leave with them in the elementary school classroom with District Grant Funds.
Dictionaries are still being requested by the schools. These clubs distribute dictionaries to 3rd graders: Downtown Honolulu, Kahului, Lahaina Sunrise, Pearl Harbor, Upcountry Maui, Waikiki, West Kauai, Windward Oahu. Rotary Club of Maui is purchasing Hawaiian History Workbooks for the 4th grade class. The Pearlridge Rotary club distributes over 850 dictionaries to 14 elementary schools is the area and each book has a copy of Rotary’s Four Way Test.
Rotary Club Kihei-Wailea’s Imua! Readers Program was produced by experienced retired educators. This phonics-based curriculum aligns with Hawaii DOE English Language Arts standards. Volunteer reading coaches are trained in the teaching method during three-hour workshops that include all instructional materials. The Imua! Readers program targets 1st grade students that have fallen behind in reading proficiency. It is designed to support the classroom teacher by providing the necessary individual attention that is not possible while teaching in a classroom of thirty students. Three Rotarians serve to administer the program at 2 elementary schools in Kihei.
Rotary in Kindergarten (RIK): 17 dedicated Rotarian readers + 1,580 books = and12 appreciative schools and 23 teachers, and 397 Happy Kindergarten Students on Hawaii Island. RIK Program Chair, Shirley Woods and her teammate, Beverly Heikes, plan to add two more schools in the 2025-26 school year.
Read To Me International, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in March 1996, was the result of a partnership created by the Governor’s Council for Literacy and Lifelong Learning and the Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunrise. From 1992-1994, the Council and Rotary embarked on a successful multi-media campaign called “Read To Me,” which resulted in a statewide campaign underscoring the importance of reading aloud. Its message was simple: “Every child in Hawaii will be read to every day for ten minutes.” Honolulu Sunrise’ district grant project provides sponsorship for the RTMI's annual conference that enables free participation by teachers, caregivers, and family members in our communities.
Junior Achievement of Hawaii provides volunteer opportunities to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. Volunteers deliver lessons in financial literacy, work and career readiness or entrepreneurship, which have shown to positively impact the lives of young people. These lessons are customized for each grade level and they align with national and state educational standards and are delivered to millions of students across the country with the help of our education partners and volunteers from the local community. When you volunteer, you choose the location, the grade level and time investment. Training and lesson plans are provided. Learn more at: https://hawaii.ja.org/ To volunteer, contact Laura Robinson, State Program Manager, laura@jahawaii.org, 808-292-0570
We know that basic education and literacy are essential for reducing poverty, improving health, encouraging community and economic development, and promoting peace. Consider these facts: If all women completed primary education, there would be 66% fewer maternal deaths; A child born to a mother who can read is 50% more likely to survive past the age of five; If all students in low-income countries left school with basic reading skills, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty, which would be equivalent to a 12% cut in world poverty.
Rotary’s goals is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy. We support education for all children and literacy for children and adults.
