Monroeville, Pennsylvania. December 11, 2008. Standard Bank (“Standard” or the “Bank”) and the Delmont-Salem Rotary have teamed up again to hand out dictionaries to the third grade students at The James H. Metzgar Elementary School. Delmont-Salem Rotarians and Standard employees have a continuing commitment to education and to serving the communities in which they live.

An added bonus is the support the dictionaries provide to re-enforce the teacher’s commitment to quality education for our children. Nevertheless, nothing is more rewarding than the look on the children’s faces when they realize that they get to keep the dictionaries. The excitement in the air from the kids perusing the books is both electrifying and rewarding beyond words.

The dictionaries are powerful reference tools. The usefulness goes beyond the spellings, pronunciations and definitions; it is a companion for solving problems that arise as a child develops his or her reading, writing, and creative thinking abilities. Students benefit from an increased self-reliance and resourcefulness inspired by the maxim "look it up." Teachers benefit by knowing that their students have consistent access to a tool for homework and in-class explorations. The program is an opportunity for children to expand their vocabulary and to have a dictionary of their own. A strong vocabulary is an essential tool for gaining knowledge. The limits of an individual's language can be the limits of his or her world. A large vocabulary does not guarantee success, but a small vocabulary limits the use that a person can make of his or her natural abilities.

The Delmont-Salem Rotary meets every Thursday morning at 7:00 A.M. at Kings Family Restaurant in Delmont. The Rotary extends an open invitation to anyone who would like to see if Rotary is the right choice for you to “get involved” and make a difference where you live.

Established in 1913, Standard is a Pennsylvania chartered savings bank with assets of $340 million. Standard operates ten offices serving individuals and small to midsized businesses in Allegheny, Westmoreland and Bedford Counties, in Pennsylvania and Allegany County in Maryland. Standard is a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Mutual Holding Company, which has not issued any stock. There is no common stock traded on any exchange. Standard is a Member of FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender.