From the Trussville Tribune staff reports
TRUSSVILLE – The Trussville Rotary Daybreak Club works hard to instill the love of reading in young people. They do so by holding regular reading sessions with local students and have done so for many years.
Every Wednesday several members of the Rotary Club meet with the students individually and provide encouragement and instruction while the students read to them. This effort increases the skills of the young reader and instills a love of reading, which is a gift that lasts a lifetime.
Last Saturday night, these dedicated readers were presented with the Excellence in Service Award at the Paws for a Cause Gala.
Rotarians are also known to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss by gifting a Dr. Seuss book to children in the elementary schools. Rotary Club member Mary Jean Sanspree came up with the idea of presenting books to the children several years ago. “The kids are always so excited to have their very own Dr. Seuss books! It is great to see the smiles on their faces as each one opens his or her book,” she said.
Rotary readers cite how encouraging it is to see what a difference can be made in the reading ability of these children. One also said, “Sometimes I see some of these kids when I’m out and about, and they’ll come up to me and just give me a big hug. It’s very rewarding.”
This year’s coordinator for the Rotary Readers program was Fran Aldridge. She was tireless in her efforts to encourage all Rotarians to be regular readers or even to participate on an occasional basis. “Even if you can’t come every week,” she said, “if you could read occasionally, I know you’ll be hooked!”
Spouses of Rotarians are even known to join in the activities. Betty Cork, wife of David Cork, has created Dr. Seuss aprons for the readers to wear as they give away the books. She also gives these special aprons to the teachers. John Patterson also invited his wife Sandy, a retired teacher, to read with the Rotarians. A post on John’s Facebook, after the book presentation, sums it up perfectly, “We all got more than we gave. Funny how that happens.”
The Trussville Rotary Daybreak Club meets for breakfast on Wednesday mornings at 7 a.m. at the Trussville Civic Center (5381 Trussville-Clay Road in Trussville). For more information on the Club, or to help with one of our projects, please ‘like’ the Trussville Rotary Club on Facebook.