Third-grade students at every elementary school in Dawson County received a visit Nov. 6 from a local educational advocacy group.

The Reading Education Association of Dawson County, or R.E.A.D., visited the four schools across the county to hand out dictionaries to every student in third grade.

R.E.A.D., an advocacy group for family literacy services, works with and within the local educational facilities to promote literacy to children, adults and any age in between in Dawson County.

"One of R.E.A.D.'s goals is to assist all students to become good writers, active readers and creative thinkers," said Sandy Lipkowitz, R.E.A.D. executive director. "One way this is done is by providing all Dawson County third-grade students a gift of their own personal dictionary."

Lipkowitz said that it was such a joy to be able to go see each of the students and hand deliver them an educational tool that would go with them throughout their life.

"It is such a joyful day for the students and has become a benchmark of being in the third grade in Dawson County," she said.

According to Lipkowitz, R.E.A.D partnered with BB&T Bank and H&R Block this year to provide the dictionaries to the students.