MARY ANN ROCCO
145 Beadle Lake Drive
Battle Creek, MI 49014
Battle Creek, MI 49014
Tel: 269-209-6640
Email: roccomaryann@yahoo.com
THE DICTIONARY PROJECT
"The Dictionary Project" started in South Carolina. The purpose of the project is to put dictionaries into the hands of third graders. These dictionaries are theirs to keep. The organizers of this project are well organized, and have structured the project to make it a success with a minimum of effort. The website includes sample letters, suggestions for labeling the dictionaries, press releases... in short they have thought of everything you need to make the project a success. You may even send for samples of the dictionaries that are offered for sale. Since the current school year is at an end you will have plenty of time to collect information on you school, ordering the dictionaries and make presentation to the school.
There are four things to recommend this project:
GOOD PURPOSE — The Grange has always supported the advancement of education
MEDIUM EXPENSE — The dictionaries are available at a reasonable cost. The books are sold in case lots.
MINIMUM EFFORT — The instructions are very complete. All the thinking work has been done for you. And it would take very few people to finish the project. A small committee could handle it easily.
GOOD PUBLIC RELATIONS — This project would make a very newsworthy story for print or radio.
Please consider this project. If you are interested please contact:
http://www.dictionaryproject.org or
Mary L. French
P.O. Box #1845
Charleston SC 29402
"The Dictionary Project" started in South Carolina. The purpose of the project is to put dictionaries into the hands of third graders. These dictionaries are theirs to keep. The organizers of this project are well organized, and have structured the project to make it a success with a minimum of effort. The website includes sample letters, suggestions for labeling the dictionaries, press releases... in short they have thought of everything you need to make the project a success. You may even send for samples of the dictionaries that are offered for sale. Since the current school year is at an end you will have plenty of time to collect information on you school, ordering the dictionaries and make presentation to the school.
There are four things to recommend this project:
GOOD PURPOSE — The Grange has always supported the advancement of education
MEDIUM EXPENSE — The dictionaries are available at a reasonable cost. The books are sold in case lots.
MINIMUM EFFORT — The instructions are very complete. All the thinking work has been done for you. And it would take very few people to finish the project. A small committee could handle it easily.
GOOD PUBLIC RELATIONS — This project would make a very newsworthy story for print or radio.
Please consider this project. If you are interested please contact:
http://www.dictionaryproject.org or
Mary L. French
P.O. Box #1845
Charleston SC 29402
COMMUNITY SERVICE
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 GRANGE NEWS
Happy New Year!!! I hope you all had a safe and wonderful Christmas season. Lets hope the New Year brings our communities safe and free of COVID 19.
Many of our Granges are still on hold with restrictions about meeting and doing our regular community services in our communities.
Many of our activities have taken on a new look. Our sewing group has taken to sewing our quilts at home. Each person does her specific job at home and then she passed it on to the person doing the next step. Usually doing multiple quilts at one time. We miss getting together but we are still making quilts for the community.
Here a couple of areas that you might consider for Community Service:
Here is a brief description of what your Community Service report should include.
Community Service Report Rules and Suggestions.
Program Date: September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2021
Community Service Report Due: September 10th, 2021. This means that your book needs to be delivered to the State Community Service Director on or before that date. Mary Ann Rocco 145 Beadle Lake Drive Battle Creek, MI 49014
Divisions: Granges are divides into two categories, small Granges with 40 members or less and large Granges with more than 40 members. Membership numbers are determined by the second quarter (June 30) membership report to the State Secretary. Granges will compete within their own category.
Summary Report: A Summary report form will be supplied to each Community Service Chairman. A report may be submitted alone or with a notebook to receive full credit as an entry. Reports may be typed or nearly hand written.
Notebook Report: Notebook reports MUST contain the Summary Report as the first pages of the report. Materials should be organized and indexed in a manner that effectively tells the story of your Grange’s Community Service work. Some choose to arrange projects from large to small and others choose to arrange materials in chronological order. You might also want to include newspaper articles, flyers and or pictures of your events. Remember if a couple of pictures cover the event it isn’t necessary to use a couple of pages of materials.
Awards: Our Granges have several ways to honor its members. You can nominate them for the VIP Award or the Dedicated Person Award. We also have the privilege of honoring a Firefighter/EMT, A Law Enforcement Officer or Teacher of the Year Award in your area. These individuals deserves special recognition for services in your area, helping with Grange service projects or very special projects/service they do.
More in depth information will be coming in the next months
If you have something happening in your grange you would like to share in the Michigan Grange News Community Service Report please let me know. If I can do anything to help you, please contact me.
Happy New Year!!! I hope you all had a safe and wonderful Christmas season. Lets hope the New Year brings our communities safe and free of COVID 19.
Many of our Granges are still on hold with restrictions about meeting and doing our regular community services in our communities.
Many of our activities have taken on a new look. Our sewing group has taken to sewing our quilts at home. Each person does her specific job at home and then she passed it on to the person doing the next step. Usually doing multiple quilts at one time. We miss getting together but we are still making quilts for the community.
Here a couple of areas that you might consider for Community Service:
- Donating snacks to local hospitals and front line worker
- Collect food for the local food bank
- Develop “Operation Warm Coats” for children in your community
- Call a home-bound neighbor; a call can make all the difference in their day.
- Plan and organize a Community Garden in the Spring
- Participate in the Spring Community Cleanup
Here is a brief description of what your Community Service report should include.
Community Service Report Rules and Suggestions.
Program Date: September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2021
Community Service Report Due: September 10th, 2021. This means that your book needs to be delivered to the State Community Service Director on or before that date. Mary Ann Rocco 145 Beadle Lake Drive Battle Creek, MI 49014
Divisions: Granges are divides into two categories, small Granges with 40 members or less and large Granges with more than 40 members. Membership numbers are determined by the second quarter (June 30) membership report to the State Secretary. Granges will compete within their own category.
Summary Report: A Summary report form will be supplied to each Community Service Chairman. A report may be submitted alone or with a notebook to receive full credit as an entry. Reports may be typed or nearly hand written.
Notebook Report: Notebook reports MUST contain the Summary Report as the first pages of the report. Materials should be organized and indexed in a manner that effectively tells the story of your Grange’s Community Service work. Some choose to arrange projects from large to small and others choose to arrange materials in chronological order. You might also want to include newspaper articles, flyers and or pictures of your events. Remember if a couple of pictures cover the event it isn’t necessary to use a couple of pages of materials.
Awards: Our Granges have several ways to honor its members. You can nominate them for the VIP Award or the Dedicated Person Award. We also have the privilege of honoring a Firefighter/EMT, A Law Enforcement Officer or Teacher of the Year Award in your area. These individuals deserves special recognition for services in your area, helping with Grange service projects or very special projects/service they do.
More in depth information will be coming in the next months
If you have something happening in your grange you would like to share in the Michigan Grange News Community Service Report please let me know. If I can do anything to help you, please contact me.
MARCH/APRIL 2021 GRANGE NEWS
It is hard to believe that a year ago this month Covid19 shut down our cities and Granges. Many of our Granges still are not holding their regular meetings. For the first time in almost a year Fredonia Grange is planning on holding a regular meeting this March.
The Notebook Reports:
Wishing everyone a Happy Saint Patrick Day! and a Blessed Easter.
It is hard to believe that a year ago this month Covid19 shut down our cities and Granges. Many of our Granges still are not holding their regular meetings. For the first time in almost a year Fredonia Grange is planning on holding a regular meeting this March.
Fredonia Grange lost Bonnie Rocco, a 25-year member, due to Covid19 in January. Bonnie was very involved in the Dictionary Program for many years. She loved seeing the joy the children experienced when
they received their dictionaries. Bonnie was instrumental in hosting tours of the Houston School during Fair Week. She was also a long time supporter of the Relay for Life program. Her helping hands and great
smile will be missed.
I am hoping everyone is trying to do some new and/or revised community services projects during these times. Here are a couple of ideas you might want to consider:
- Deliver snacks to hospitals or senior care facilities.
- Help with Spring Cleanup for a neighbor.
- Make Birthday cards for children in a homeless shelter.
- Bake cookies for your local food pantry.
- Arrange to read to seniors in a care facilities using FaceTime.
- Community Services can be as big or as personal as you want.
Lets take a look at what our Community Service reports should include,
The Notebook Reports:
- The summary report should be placed at the beginning of the Notebook. This form is required!
- Material should be organized. Suggested ways to submit the Notebook is to have the projects grouped together by the size of the project, chronologically or have your Notebook read like a book. This is your opportunity to tell the story of your Grange in a neat and concise manner.
- Please do not send more than one Notebook. Notebooks cannot be larger than a 2-inch binder
- Videotapes and computer discs cannot be used in place of a report for judging.
Projects:
- Describe the project(s) that will answer the Who? What? Where? When? Why? And How?
- Why did you choose this project? What was your goal? How did you accomplish the project
- Include the details of the work. Were there special committees? Did it take cooperation of other groups? How many Grangers and non-Grangers were involved? What did you accomplish? Describe your successes.
- Include support materials used such as publicity, pictures, news articles & letters.
- Did you overcome obstacles? Did you record what you would do differently?
- Would you recommend this type of project to other Granges?
- Keep the report concise. Include only material that directly impacts the projects you are explaining.
- On the Project List pages: List the projects, the approximate number of hours spent on each project. List the number of Grangers and nonGrangers who assisted with the project. If more space is needed use additional pages.
Community Service Reports are due September 10th, 2021.
National Grange Contest Forms
Click on the links below to open the forms
Click on the links below to open the forms
Firefighter/EMT, Law Enforcement Officer and Teacher of the Year Nominations - Page 3
