Dictionaries Bring Happiness to Third Graders in Ferndale School District

This past Wednesday, 58 third graders at John F. Kennedy School received new dictionaries thanks to the dictionary project I'm participating in with local bloggers, PositiveDetroit.net and Operation: Kid Equip. The whole team (Jen Wright, Becks Davis, Lauren Weber, Erin Rose and Menachem Kniespeck) was there to witness the kids beam from ear to ear when we put the dictionaries in their hands.

The kids showed their appreciation with plenty of "thank yous" and hugs. The principal called on a few students and asked them to share how they were feeling. Answers ranged from "special and loved" to "very happy and excited." A few of the third graders asked us questions about the dictionaries and our personal blogs. I was impressed that the kids knew what a blog is!

You can read more about the distribution and the dictionary project in this article in The Oakland Press. Becks Davis has more photos on her Flickr page.

I want to touch on something brought up in the comments in The Oakland Press article. A commenter expressed her discontent over Oakland County schools receiving the dictionaries because (1) it's one of the wealthiest counties in the nation and (2) the article has quotes referencing how we're helping "Detroit" (it's a known fact that people here frequently use "Detroit" to refer to southeast MI, and some native Detroiters are bothered by this).

Menachem did a great job of setting the record straight in his comment. Oakland County may have been named one of the richest counties in the nation at one point, but many people don't realize that more than 50,000 students in Oakland County are on the free and reduced lunch program. Third graders in the Hazel Park School District are next up on the list to receive free dictionaries. More than 70 percent of those students receive free or reduced lunches. These statistics and others prove that poverty in Oakland County is no longer specific to the cities traditionally labeled as poor. You can find more info at on the Operation: Kid Equip site.

At the end of the day, all that really matters is the dictionary donations make students feel happy, cared for and loved. We don't know which ones belong to families who are struggling financially. We can only hope that this project will give the students more insight into the importance of knowing how to read and write well.

We still have a ways to go to reach our goal of giving dictionaries to roughly 2,700 third graders in Oakland County. With your continued support, we can make it happen. Donation details are included in my previous post, but ping me if you need more info. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far!

Top photo credit

How You Can Help Metro Detroit Students Become Powerful Writers and Creative Thinkers

I'm taking part in a very cool and creative initiative that will help make a difference in the lives of metro Detroit children.

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

Erin Rose of Positive Detroit, Becks Davis of Detroit Moxie, 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 encourage local students to 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 eight third graders with dictionaries.

An anonymous donor has graciously offered to match donations, dictionary-for-dictionary, up to the first 100 dictionaries. Just think - your donation today can double the amount of children who are being served tomorrow.

Reading and writing have always been an enormous part of my life. I started reading earlier than most children (basically as soon as I could form sensible sentences), and I was the speed reader who finished all the reading assignments first in elementary school. Knowing how to read goes hand-in-hand with knowing how to write. As a public relations professional who spends gobs of time writing, I understand that it's an art and a craft. Loving to read early on in life, coupled with constantly using a dictionary to build my vocabulary, helped me polish my writing skills. I wish every child in this world could learn how to become powerful writers. Together, we can play a part in shaping the futures of children who enjoy reading and writing by giving them dictionaries.

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.


**Photo credit: jovike

Creative People Possess Common Traits

Writing is an enormous part of my job, and thankfully, it's an activity I love to do. Regardless of the amount of time I spend writing on a weekly basis, there's always room for improvement. Anyone and everyone who has a passion for writing (particularly if you're creating and sharing content online for a business purpose) should avidly read Copyblogger. 

I wanted to share this recent post about writing and creativity, Do You Have These 11 Traits of Highly Creative People? because it's perfect for anyone who's recently hit a creative roadblock or wants to add some zest to their writing. The author elaborates more on the 11 traits of highly creative people, but here's the brief version:

Highly creative people:

• Have the courage to try new things and risk failure.
• Use intuition and logic to make decisions and produce ideas.
• Like to play, since humor and fun are the ultimate creative act.
• Are expressive and willing to share what they feel and think to be themselves.
• Can find order in confusion and discover hidden meaning in information.
• Are motivated by task rather than by external rewards.
• Have a need to find solutions to challenging problems.
• Will challenge assumptions and ask hard questions to discover what is real.
• Can make connections between old ideas to produce new insights.
• Will push the envelope in order to expand the boundaries of what is possible.
• Are willing to test new ideas and compete with others based on results. 

The author admits most people don't naturally possess these traits, but they aren't difficult to attain. So here's the timeline: Act creative, become creative, success will follow. I'm sure the length of each stage varies from person to person, but I truly believe that creativity is the key to not only a successful career, but also to a more happy and productive life.