Nearly 450 first Grade students from the Fond du Lac Public School District gathered at Marian University on Friday, May 5, 2023, to celebrate reading in a pilot program – “READ 4 LIFE”. Fond du Lac Morning Rotary Club partnered with Marian University and the Fond du Lac School District to host the first graders, along with their classroom teachers, chaperones and literacy coaches at Marian. The purpose of the program is to celebrate reading and emphasize to the students that the community cares about literacy. Students engaged in story reading, games, scavenger hunts, lunch and other activities coordinated by Marian University Honors Students. As a part of the program, each first-grade teacher received eight books from Rotary which they shared with their students during the fall semester. Students were asked to identify their favorite book. At the completion of the READ 4 LIFE Celebration on May 5, each student departed from Marian with a READ 4 LIFE backpack, a READ 4 LIFE T-shirt including the names of sponsors, and a copy of their favorite READ 4 LIFE book. Literacy and Basic Education is one of seven focus areas of The Rotary Foundation and Morning Rotary. The goal of Rotary and the Rotary Foundation is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy. In addition to public school students, teachers and staff members, the event involved over 25 Rotary volunteers, more than 20 Marian University faculty and staff members, and over a dozen Marian Honors Students. NEWS The READ 4 LIFE project was funded in part by Morning Rotary Club of Fond du Lac, a grant from Rotary District 6270 and The Rotary Foundation, Marian University, Fond du Lac School District, and co-sponsors including: SSM Healthcare, Alliant Energy Foundation, American Association of University Women, CD Smith Construction, Fond du Lac Credit Union, Fox Valley Savings Bank, Grande Cheese, Hopper Silk Screening and All Star Trophy, Kondex, Mid-States Aluminum Foundation, National Exchange Bank and Trust, BCI Burke Foundation,
Mike Shannon Automotive, and Signarama.
