Bayda, DeFauw On Hand to Present Dictionaries to Hunter Elem. Students

	Last year, Josef Vasicek and Jaroslav Svoboda took part in The Dictionary Project.

RALEIGH, N.C. (Sept. 3, 2003) – On Friday, Sept. 5, Carolina Hurricanes forwards Ryan Bayda and Brad DeFauw will be on hand to present dictionaries to third graders at Raleigh’s Hunter Elementary School. The event marks the second consecutive year the Hurricanes have teamed with The Dictionary Project to distribute dictionaries to students.

Along with the dictionaries, Bayda and DeFauw will present the students with certificates symbolizing the importance of the dictionary and the responsibility of caring for it and using it as a companion for solving problems that arise. Last year, the Hurricanes and The Dictionary Project distributed dictionaries to about 400 third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students at Hunter Elementary. The money for the dictionaries was donated by a private family foundation.

The Dictionary Project is a nonprofit organization designed to raise money to provide a dictionary for third-grade students. The Project is supported by Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs and many other civic groups, businesses and individuals. The program is designed to aid third-grade teachers in their goals to see all of their students leave at the end of the year as good writers, active readers and creative thinkers.

Friday’s event begins at 2:30 p.m. at Hunter Elementary School, located at 1018 East Davie St. in Raleigh. Media interested in covering the event should contact Hurricanes Community Relations Coordinator Anne Clinard at 919-861-5494 or Director of Media Relations Mike Sundheim at 919-861-5477. Suzi Dillon-McDonnell serves as Hunter’s Dictionary Project Coordinator and can be reached at 919-488-6237.

For more information on The Dictionary Project, contact Mary French at wordpower@dictionaryproject.org, or visit http://www.dictionaryproject.org on the Internet.