About
A nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting literacy and educational opportunity by providing students with their own personal dictionaries.
The Dictionary Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting literacy and educational opportunity by providing students with their own personal dictionaries. For more than three decades, sponsors, volunteers, schools, businesses, civic organizations, and community groups have worked together to place dictionaries into the hands of students, encouraging reading, writing, critical thinking, and lifelong learning.
What began as a simple act of generosity has grown into a nationwide effort that has helped millions of students receive one of the most valuable educational tools they will ever own—a dictionary they can use at school, at home, and throughout their lives.
Our Mission
The mission of The Dictionary Project is to ensure that everyone can experience the benefits of owning a dictionary. Our program assists people in becoming good writers, active readers, creative thinkers, and resourceful learners by providing them with their own personal dictionary. A dictionary is an essential tool for a quality education, and we believe every student should have the opportunity to own one. This mission reflects the organization's stated purpose of helping students become good writers, active readers, creative thinkers, and resourceful learners by providing them with their own personal dictionary.
The dictionaries are given as gifts for students to use both at school and at home for years to come. Educators recognize third grade as an important milestone because it represents the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. For that reason, many Dictionary Projects focus on providing dictionaries to third-grade students, although local sponsors may also support other grade levels and educational programs based on the needs of their communities.
Our Vision
We envision a future where each generation of dictionary recipients understands the importance of language and passes that appreciation to the next generation. Language gives people the ability to communicate ideas, ask thoughtful questions, understand different perspectives, and participate more fully in their schools, communities, and society.
We believe that words empower people. A strong vocabulary helps individuals express themselves with confidence, think critically, solve problems independently, and make informed decisions. As technology continues to change the way we learn, a personal dictionary remains a valuable educational resource that encourages curiosity, exploration, and self-reliance rather than simply providing quick answers. Mary French also emphasized that learning is an active experience involving observation, questioning, and exposure to different points of view, and that command of language remains essential in an increasingly technology-driven world.
Our History
The Dictionary Project began with a simple idea: every child should own a dictionary.
In 1992, Annie Plummer of Savannah, Georgia, began giving dictionaries to children attending a nearby school. What started as a small local effort quickly became a lifelong commitment. Through years of fundraising and community support, Annie ultimately provided more than 17,000 dictionaries to children in Savannah, demonstrating how one person's idea could make a lasting difference.
Annie's work inspired Bonnie Beeferman of Hilton Head, South Carolina, who launched a similar effort by raising money through community craft sales to provide dictionaries to local students. As demand from schools continued to grow, Bonnie realized the project had the potential to reach far beyond a single community.
In 1995, Bonnie wrote a letter to the editor of the Charleston Post and Courier seeking help in expanding the project. Among those who read the article was Mary French, an active school volunteer. Recognizing the tremendous educational value of the idea, Mary began organizing Dictionary Projects throughout the Charleston area.
As interest continued to grow, Mary and her husband, Arno French, established The Dictionary Project as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, creating a national framework that would allow communities everywhere to launch their own Dictionary Projects.
The organization's first major goal was to provide dictionaries to every third-grade student in South Carolina. That milestone was achieved in 1999.
Three years later, in 2002, a front-page feature in The Wall Street Journal introduced The Dictionary Project to a national audience, inspiring individuals, businesses, civic organizations, and schools across the country to begin sponsoring projects in their own communities.
Today, The Dictionary Project continues to operate through local sponsors who believe in the power of literacy. Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs, Lions Clubs, schools, businesses, churches, foundations, and countless volunteers have introduced Dictionary Projects in communities throughout the United States and beyond. Sponsors may choose from dictionaries, thesauruses, bilingual dictionaries, atlases, and other educational reference books, ensuring that each project reflects the needs of its local students.
Why Dictionaries Matter
A dictionary is more than a reference book. It teaches students how to discover the meaning of unfamiliar words, understand pronunciation and spelling, expand vocabulary, and strengthen communication skills. It encourages critical thinking by helping students work through unfamiliar concepts rather than simply searching for immediate answers.
For many children, the dictionary they receive through The Dictionary Project becomes one of the first books they truly own. It is a gift they can keep for years, use both at school and at home, and share with their families. That single gift often becomes a lasting reminder that someone in their community believes in their education and their future.
Continuing the Mission
Today, The Dictionary Project continues to support literacy initiatives through the generosity of sponsors and volunteers who believe in the power of words. Local Dictionary Projects continue to provide dictionaries and other educational resources to students while building stronger relationships between schools, communities, and those who invest in the next generation.
Each dictionary represents more than a book—it represents an investment in a student's confidence, education, and future.
Our Staff
Executive Director
Mary French has served as Director of The Dictionary Project since 1995 and has played a major role in expanding the organization’s literacy mission nationwide.
She has written and published multiple student dictionary editions and educational reference materials used by sponsors and schools throughout the program.
Our Board
Meet the board members who bring experience in education, public service, community leadership, literacy, and lifelong learning.
Board Member
Logophile, National Spelling Bee competitor, multilingual language advocate, and Director of the Rural Export Center.
Board Member
Literacy advocate who values physical dictionaries as tools for discovery, sequencing, vocabulary, and screen-free learning.
Vice President
Attorney, Littleton Rotary Literacy Committee chair, and longtime dictionary-distribution advocate.
Board Member
Nurse, therapist, educator, author, Rotarian, and lifelong advocate for learning and child development.
Board Member
Former Peace Corps volunteer, public servant, and school presenter who has made hundreds of dictionary presentations.
Board Member
Educator, superintendent, professor, Navy veteran, Rotarian, and community servant.
Nonprofit Status
The Dictionary Project is a registered nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy and educational access.
Get Involved
Help students in your community receive their own personal dictionaries.
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