Make a Diffenence Day 2000 One of the most important gifts you can give a child is the gift of knowledge through reading and literature. The staff of the Gallipolis Daily Tribune took it upon themselves to establish a literacy program in Gallia County to help children learn to read, understand, and apply their knowledge. The group began a large-scale book drive on October 1, with the goal of providing a new book for every Gallia County youngster in grades K-4. The Daily Tribute staff incorporated the help of the University of Rio Grande/Rio Grande Community College and two school systems, Gallipolis City and Gallia County Local as well as the private school, Ohio Valley Christian. Leading up to the Make A Difference Day event, the Tribune staff conducted assemblies in every elementary school in the county. The assemblies included a video furnished by the World Wrestling Federation featuring WWF Superstar Al Snow inviting children to the Gallia Reads program and reading "The Cat in the Hat," which touched the hearts of both children and teachers.

Make a Difference Day 2001 $2,000 state awards Elida. 8 children who set out to make a difference by collecting glasses for the visually impaired know a lot about the subject: All were born blind. Teacher Corinne Piper orchestrated the effort of her students, from kindergarten through the 12th grade, who live in 22 northwestern Ohio counties. They collected 200-plus pairs of used eyeglasses for New Eyes for the Needy, a national program that refurbishes glasses for the poor. 1 high school sophomore collected nearly half of the total. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Logan County Education Service Center, 121 South Opera Street, Bellefontaine OH 43311 Gallipolis. A fifth of adults in Gallia County are considered illiterate. A third have less than a 12th-grade education. Knowing these statistics, 6 workers at the Gallipolis Daily Tribune elected to promote literacy for Make A Difference Day, by buying every elementary school pupil in the county a new book. To raise awareness and money, they held an assembly at each school, organized benefit concerts and distributed videos, made exclusively for the project, of wrestling champ Al Snow reading The Cat in the Hat. In response, the county opened its pocketbooks: $14,000 and 300 books were donated. On Oct. 28, volunteers held a picnic to give away 2,000 books and 2 scholarships from Rio Grande University -- bringing the total donation to more than $54,000, part of which the newspaper used to start a "Gallia Reads" foundation. On hand was Ohio first lady Hope Taft: "It was the single most significant day I've spent as first lady. And I've attended more than 460 events." The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Gallipolis City School, 61 State Street, Gallipolis OH 45631