Contributed by the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy
Community leaders and volunteers will join Black Press and the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy on October 8 to raise awareness about the importance of literacy and to celebrate the power literacy has in Revelstoke.
The Fourth Annual Reach a Reader campaign will raise funds for Revelstoke’s community-based literacy programs.
Why? Literacy is important to all British Columbians! It impacts every aspect of our lives: healthcare, crime rates, employment and economic status. Despite its essential role in life, at least 40 per cent of B.C. adults have difficulty reading a newspaper, filling out a work application, reading a map, or understanding a lease – and this percentage is increasing.
“The Reach a Reader campaign reminds people that literacy skills are important if we are to succeed in today’s world,” says Tracy Spannier, Revelstoke Community Literacy Coordinator “When we hear the word literacy many of us think 'you can read or you can't read.’ Of course, literacy is about reading and writing, but it is also about the ability to express our ideas, think critically, and use technology. Literacy is wide and all-encompassing. Literacy is having the skills you need, to do what you want to do in your life.”
In Revelstoke, funds raised will help support family literacy programs such as Mother Goose and Family Night Out. These programs help parents to support early learning and language development. We know that children who can hear and say rhyming sounds will find it easier to learn how to read later on. Mother Goose parent Gaila Hemphill says, “We still sing songs that we learned in Mother Goose! Last night for bedtime was Slippery Fish, Fly on the Wind, and Oh Canada in English and French! Mother Goose is a great program — so valuable for the kids and parents!”
You can support the Reach a Reader campaign by making a donation in exchange for a special edition of the Revelstoke Times Review on October 8. Volunteers will be hitting the streets with papers in hand at Coopers and Grizzly Books from 10 a.m. To 5 p.m. You may also donate online at cbal.org.
To learn more about community-based literacy programs in Revelstoke contact Tracy Spannier, Revelstoke’s Community Literacy Coordinator, at tspannier@cbal.org or call 250-805-2305.