The Mission Viejo, Saddleback Valley Elks began their 12th year of passing out Dictionaries to Third Graders in the Saddleback and Capistrano Valley School Districts. 4,500 new books were recently delivered to the Elks Lodge in Mission Viejo to be readied for this year’s distribution. Dictionary Project Chairman Marcy Urquhart assigned the first distributions to Elks Dictionary distribution veterans Past Exalted Ruler Hal Mattson and Grand Lodge Area 7 Committeeman Andy Costello. De Portola and Wagon Wheel Elementary schools were the first two schools to receive this year’s books. Hal Mattson said of the distribution, “It went well today. These kids get so excited when they receive their books; they can’t wait to dig into them. This is the twelfth year we’ve been doing this and we have passed out over 60,000 books to Third Graders of the two school districts.”
Parents have praised the program saying, “Our children just love the dictionaries.” More importantly, educators have said that the third grade is when children transition from learning to read – to reading to learn. In a twenty minute lighthearted presentation, the Elk representatives explain the use of the books which are much more than a dictionary as they contain many interesting facts about the universe, the countries of the world and the Declaration of Independence; it is more of a mini encyclopedia. Costello says his favorite part of the presentation is asking the children if they know what the longest word in the English language is. “They usually guess the word is ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ and they really get a kick out of hearing how much longer the real longest word is.”
Chairman Marcie is in the process of scheduling future distributions which will continue where possible between the holiday school breaks and then after the first of the year. Funding for the project is provided by the Elks Bingo Charity Committee. Bingo Manager Harvey Boelts, Past Exalted Ruler of the Mission Viejo, Saddleback Valley Elks said of the project, “We really owe a great debt of thanks to the men and women bingo players of the community and the Elks who work tirelessly to serve them at bingo every week. Credit goes also to the selfless Elk members who raise funds throughout the year to donate to all our Lodge charities. Because of these people we are able to support worthwhile programs throughout our community such as the Dictionary Project.”
Hal Mattson & Andy Costello with Wagon Wheel Third Graders
Photo Credit: The Mission Viejo/Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge #2444
The Mission Viejo/Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge #2444 is celebrating 50 years of service to Saddleback Valley Communities. It is one of 8 lodges in the Orange Coast District of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) whose headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois. The BPOE is a charitable organization with a 150-year history of giving. “Elks Care – Elks Share”. For information regarding Elks programs or membership, call 949 830-3557
Andy Costello
Elks Grand Lodge Area 7 Membership
& Marketing Committee
