THE LISANN PETERS’ READ WITH ROTARY IS ON MAY 18–19, 2021 at Webb Elementary during the school’s Scholastic Book Fair.
Karen Patterson, the Librarian has the book fair set up in her library where each student in the school comes through the fair and picks out a book to take home as their very own. Our Rotary Club volunteers attend the book fair from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm each day and have short conversations with each student about reading and why they picked out that particular book.
We put a Rotary label on the inside cover of the book where they sign their name. There are over 700 students at Webb and every child receives a book. The Rotary Foundation paid $1,835.32 in 2019 and $2,884.81 in 2020 for the books; before that, Lisann paid for the books. I believe the program started about 15 years ago.
Read with Rotary was renamed 2 years ago after her passing, in honor of Lisann and her years of dedication to the program. She not only wrote checks to financially support the cause, she also attended the events at which the books were given to the children. She would literally encourage each child to read ‘their very own book’ and all books so that they could learn and travel the world through stories. Lisann believed that learning to read. changed the lives of children and their families. It was her desire that every child learn not only to read but to learn to love reading.
Joy Bates Webb School Community Service Director, 2020-21