Indigo Love of Reading Foundation Announces $1.5 million commitment to 2018 Literacy Fund Grant Recipients with Community Celebrations across Canada

Indigo Love of Reading Foundation (CNW Group/Indigo Love of Reading Foundation)

TORONTOMay 25, 2018 /CNW/ – Earlier this month, 30 high-needs elementary schools across Canadalearned that they would benefit from the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation’s annual $1.5 millionLiteracy Fund grant. For the first time ever, Indigo stores across the country united with grant recipient schools to host community celebrations to honour the school’s achievements and the opportunities this grant presents. Grant amounts were revealed during the celebrations with a large cheque delivered by local Indigo, Chapters and Coles employees. Each student also received a book of their own to keep in their classroom library.

For children, books have a way of opening doors to new adventures. Whether it is befriending a fire-breathing dragon or following the journey of a superhero wearing underpants, books help to develop a sense of curiosity and engagement while also sparking a child’s imagination and creativity. School libraries play a big role in providing children with early exposure to books, especially in areas where kids may not have access to books at home. Unfortunately, the reality is that many high-needs elementary schools in Canada do not have adequate funding to maintain healthy school libraries.

“Without access to books, children are more limited in their chances to learn and explore through reading,” said Ariel Siller, Executive Director of the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation. “That is why we are so dedicated to offering high-needs elementary schools across Canada an opportunity to transform their school libraries through the Literacy Fund grants. Thanks to the generous support of Indigo, its employees and its customers, we are delighted to provide children across Canada with access to the resources they need to develop strong literacy skills and a lifelong love of reading.”

The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation believes that all Canadian children deserve access to books. However, due to insufficient public funding of school libraries, many Canadian schools can only afford one new library book a year for every three children1. In an effort to place more books in the hands of Canadian children, the Foundation’s annual Literacy Fund grants allow high-needs schools to invest in their libraries and offer new materials that are relevant and engaging to their students.

As a result of this year’s Literacy Fund grants, over 7,500 students across the country will attend schools that have funds to purchase more than 150,000 books over the next three years.

2018 Indigo Love of Reading Foundation Literacy Fund grant recipients (by province):

  • Dr. J. K. Mulloy SchoolCalgary, Alberta
  • Spruce Avenue School, Edmonton, Alberta
  • Parkdale School, Wetaskiwin, Alberta
  • Tillicum Community School, Victoria, British Columbia
  • Xpey’ Elementary School, Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Bridgeview Elementary, Surrey, British Columbia
  • École Opasquia School, The Pas, Manitoba
  • Riverview School, Brandon, Manitoba
  • Pinkham SchoolWinnipeg, Manitoba
  • École Donat-Robichaud, Cap-Pelé, New Brunswick
  • Canterbury High School, Canterbury, New Brunswick
  • St. Teresa’s School, St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • Catalina Elementary, Catalina, Trinity Bay NorthNewfoundland
  • Harbour View Elementary School, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
  • Echo Dene SchoolFort Liard, Northwest Territories
  • Lake Avenue Elementary School, Hamilton, Ontario
  • Viscount Montgomery Elementary School, Hamilton, Ontario
  • Fenside Public School, North York, Ontario
  • Glen Ravine Junior Public School, Toronto, Ontario
  • Blessed Sacrament Catholic School, London, Ontario
  • Lord Elgin Public SchoolLondon, Ontario
  • Biidaaban Kinoomaagegamik, Massey, Ontario
  • Simon Jacob Memorial Education Centre, Webequie, Ontario
  • Mount Stewart Consolidated School, Mount Stewart, Prince Edward Island
  • École Curé-Beaudet, St-Éphrem, Québec
  • École Saint-PaulGatineau, Québec
  • École de la Pléiade, Beauport, Québec
  • St. Mary’s School, North Battleford, Saskatchewan
  • Sutherland Elementary School, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
  • Teslin SchoolTeslinYukon

 

Now in its 14th year, the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation has committed more than $21 million to more than 275 high-needs elementary schools across the country through its annual Literacy Fund grant, and an additional $7 million through its other programs, impacting over 900,000 children. Schools interested in applying for the 2019 Literacy Fund grant can learn more at www.loveofreading.org.

Indigo Love of Reading Foundation & First Book Canada Grant Day Partnership
In addition to the 2018 Literacy Fund grants, the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation has once again partnered with First Book Canada, which provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books. As part of this partnership, the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation and First Book Canada will provide more than 1,500 new books to each of the 30 runner-up schools that applied for the Literacy Fund grant, a donation of more than 45,000 books in total. This year, books will be generously donated from Bayard, Les Editions Heritage, Disney Worldwide Publishing, Marvel Press, Disney Press, Lucasfilm Press, and Hyperion Press.

About the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation
Indigo Books & Music Inc. founded the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation in 2004 to address the underfunding of public elementary school libraries. To date, the Foundation has committed $28 million to more than 3,000 high-needs schools, impacting over 900,000 children. The Foundation runs two signature programs each year. In May 2018, the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation Literacy Fund grants committed $1.5 million to 30 high-needs elementary schools that lack the resources to build and maintain healthy school libraries. To date, the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation’s Literacy Fund has committed $21 million to more than 275 schools nationally. Additionally, each fall, the Foundation’s annual grassroots Adopt a School program unites the Foundation with Indigo, its employees, its customers and their communities to raise funds to support high-needs elementary schools across Canada and put even more books into the hands of children. In October 2017, the Indigo Adopt a School program contributed over $1 million to more than 550 schools across Canada, impacting more than 185,000 children. To learn more about the Foundation, visit www.loveofreading.org.

1 Data collected from the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation Literacy Fund grant program.

SOURCE Indigo Love of Reading Foundation

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*