Community leaders and volunteers will join Black Press, Kootenay Savings Credit Union and the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy (CBAL) to raise awareness about the importance of literacy and to raise funds for this year’s Reach a Reader campaign in Trail. This year’s campaign theme is Books for Kids.
The 7th annual campaign is taking the action to the streets today (Wednesday, Oct. 18). Volunteers will be “selling” a special edition of the Trail Daily Times by donation. Throughout the Books for Kids campaign, piggy banks will be available at Kootenay Savings Credit Union, local businesses and community-based literacy programs.
“In today’s society, we need to define literacy as far more than simply the ability to read and write. Being literate means being able to continue to learn as the world around us changes,” says Community Literacy Coordinator, Carolyn Amantea. “We know that early interactions with books provide children with the building blocks they need to become lifelong learners.”
In Trail, funds raised will help support CBAL to purchase quality books for children and their families in Together to Learn and Mother Goose. Books will also be distributed through a variety of events such as Family Literacy Day.
Early literacy skills are essential in helping children learn how to read and having access to quality books helps to foster these skills. Struggling readers experience numerous barriers as they continue throughout their school years and this impacts not only their learning, but their confidence and self-esteem.
You can support the Books for Kids campaign by making a donation for a paper today at Ferraro Foods between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. or by dropping some change into one of the piggy banks you see around town. You may also donate online at cbal.org. Take the opportunity to help reach a reader and donate today!
To learn more about community-based literacy programs in Trail contact Carolyn Amantea, Community Literacy Coordinator at trailcoordinator@cbal.org or go to cbal.org.
About Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy:
The Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy (CBAL) is a not-for-profit organization that develops, promotes and delivers literacy and essential skills services for people of all ages in the Columbia Basin and Boundary regions.
CBAL’s 16 Community Literacy Coordinators provide services in 77 communities, working with local literacy advisory committees to develop effective literacy programs and resources in the communities they serve.