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The Torrington Rotary Club is proposing a literacy grant project which will encourage sixth graders to write more through the use of personal journals. Goshen County in Wyoming is one of the poorest counties in the state, typically ranking 22 or 23 of 23 counties in per capita income. Children and their parents typically have little disposable income and have difficulty purchasing any extras for school or home. The importance of learning to journal, and then adopting journaling as a lifelong literacy skill has been shown that it helps students clarify their thoughts, express their feelings, develop a healthy way to make positive choices and decisions, help reduce anxiety about life situations, and to take responsibility for actions. Goshen County has approximately 130 sixth graders in five attendance areas including Torrington, Southeast, Lingle Fort Laramie, St. Joseph's Children's Home, and Valley Christian School. The grant funds needed would be $1000 with the club matching requirement of $500. This would allow the purchase of personal journals and Rotary pen/pencil sets for the children to use. The club will work collaboratively with the schools and their writing teachers to accomplish the goals of the grant. The counselor at Torrington Middle School indicated that transitioning into the sixth grade is a difficult time for many children. Helping them develop coping skills such as personal journaling can go a long way to helping students develop an important lifelong literacy skill.
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