Nearly 55,000 children, parents and caregivers across BC, including in rural, remote and Indigenous communities, can access family literacy programs to improve their reading skills as part of the annual Raise-a-Reader campaign, September 22-29, 2022 .
“Reading and writing is an essential skill that opens so many doors for children and their families across British Columbia, and that’s why I’m pleased to be able to sponsor Raise-a-Reader Week,” said Nathan Cullen, Minister for Community Affairs. “Contributions to this campaign help support year-round programs for children and their families to engage in reading, play and other activities that help develop these important skills.”
This year, the BC government is donating $500,000 to the annual Raise-a-Reader campaign in support of literacy programs provided by community organizations, public libraries and schools. Postmedia raises money through donations to fund annual virtual and in-person literacy programs for families across BC.
The province supports literacy in partnership with Decoda Literacy Solutions, which manages donations and provides resources such as reading materials, training and funding to assist with community-based literacy and learning programs in BC communities.
“Many individuals support Raise-a-Reader through their work and community groups. We really appreciate their commitment to this important program,” said Sandra Lee, Managing Director of Decoda Literacy Solutions. “The program provides literacy support and learning resources to children and families across BC.”
Money raised through the campaign reaches children and families through programs such as individual reading and tutoring programs, story walks, English learning and parent-child mother goose.
During Raise-a-Reader Week, the print and online editions of the Vancouver Sun will feature daily stories highlighting community literacy programs.
“Postmedia’s Raise-a-Reader program remains committed to helping children and families gain the literacy skills they need to improve their lives,” said Harold Munro, Vancouver Editor-in-Chief Sun and The Province. “We thank the provincial government for their continued support of the annual campaign with a generous donation that will benefit thousands of BC residents. We are also very grateful for the many contributions from other institutions and our loyal readers.”
The public is invited to visit the Canada Helps website to make a donation to the community of their choice: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/42475
Fast Facts:
- More than 700,000 British Columbians face significant literacy challenges.
- Almost half of people aged 16 to 65 have difficulty following directions for use, reading health information, understanding newspapers and more.
- Since 2017, the province has invested $3 million in support of raise-a-reader literacy programs.
- Since 1997, the campaign has raised more than $21 million to support literacy initiatives in the province.
- In 2021, 54,566 children, parents and caregivers attended 4,293 family literacy classes made possible with support from Raise-a-Reader.
Learn more:
To donate to the 2022 Raise-a-Reader campaign, visit: https://vancouversun.com/raiseareader
Decoda Literacy Solutions and Foundation: https://decoda.ca/get-involved/raise-a-reader/
