Over the last few weeks, dozens of service club members have been giving the gift of words to third-graders in Folsom.

The Folsom Rotary Club and the Rotary Club of Historic Folsom spearhead the effort to distribute about 1,000 dictionaries in town.

“Quite a few of the clubs are doing this,” said Jim Garity, president of the historic Folsom club.

On a drizzly Tuesday morning last week, eight Rotarians passed out dictionaries to 60 third-graders at Carl Sundahl Elementary School. The books aren’t donated to the schools, but to the students.

“(The dictionary) belongs to you,” said Donna Chulos Hays, principal of the school, speaking to the assembled students as they clutched their new books. “It is because of the Rotary clubs that you have that dictionary that is yours forever.”

Ray Klug, president of the Folsom Rotary Club that was founded in 1953, helped with the distribution.

“This is just one of the many projects we do around town,” Klug said.

Chris Bulman, also with the older club, said the books retail for $20.

When addressing the students, he told them the clubs do many charitable projects around the area.

“Have you ever seen those benches on the bike trail or the shade structure at the park? Most of these things are donated by service clubs,” Bulman said.

The principal said the efforts of the clubs were appreciated.

“We couldn’t get these dictionaries without the Rotary clubs,” Chulos Hays said.

The dictionaries are being distributed at local schools through March 11.

Don Chaddock can be reached at donc@goldcountry

media.com.