The Comox Valley Raise-a-Reader Committee, which includes the Comox Valley Record and the Comox Valley Echo, recently received a cheque for $28,000 from the Postmedia Raise-a-Reader Foundation. Raise-a-Reader funds were raised in September 2015 through local sponsorship and donations. The funds were then matched in part by the Ministry of Education.
“It’s a win-win fundraising campaign that benefits local literacy programs and initiatives. The more we raise locally, the more the Ministry of Education matches what we raise. This year we raised $17,000 and the Ministry of Education contributed $11,000 to that amount,” says local Raise-a-Reader Coordinator Danielle Hoogland.
Raise-a-Reader Day was held on Sept. 23, 2015. The funds received will be funding literacy programs and events throughout the 2016 year. For example, the Adult Learning Centre will be offering English as a Second Language tutoring and basic computer tutoring for adult learners and Comox Valley Lifelong Learning Association will be offering Family Literacy Outreach programs and much more.
The first Raise-a-Reader funded event is Family Literacy Week from January 27-29. The Courtenay, Comox and Cumberland libraries will be hosting literacy activities and a special performance by Stella Swanson. All children will also receive a free cloth lunch bag with a book and some “recipes” for fun family activities. Details of the Raise-a-Reader campaign and of Family Literacy Week can be found at www.cvliteracy.ca