For Immediate Release
2008OTP0010-000088
Jan. 24, 2008
Office of the Premier
Ministry of Education
VANCOUVER – As part of Family Literacy Week, the Province is fulfilling its commitment to CanWest’s Raise-a-Reader campaign with a matching donation of over $895,000, the largest contribution yet, Premier Gordon Campbell announced today.
“Literacy opens the doors of opportunity for every British Columbian,” said Campbell. “Raise-a-Reader helps lay the foundation for children and families to develop community connections and improve the reading skills that will last a lifetime.”
The matching funding for the Raise-a-Reader campaign will go to support many literacy groups, such as the Canucks Family Education Centre, Literacy BC, S.U.C.C.E.S.S., CNIB, Aboriginal HIPPY Canada (Home Instruction for Parents of Pre-school Youngsters) and Big Sisters of B.C. Lower Mainland.
“We are pleased to lend our support to this very worthwhile fundraising campaign with a 54 per cent increase over last year’s contribution,” said Education Minister Shirley Bond. “Literacy truly is the backbone of healthy and productive communities and supports government’s goal of making B.C. the best-educated, most literate jurisdiction on the continent.”
The Province has previously supported campaigns in Vancouver and Victoria, and this year support was extended to inaugural CanWest campaigns in Kelowna, Nanaimo, Penticton, Port Alberni and Prince George. All proceeds raised from the 2007 campaign’s street sales stay in the community where they were collected, and are distributed to local literacy organizations to improve literacy for children and families across the province.
“CanWest greatly appreciates the B.C. government and Premier Gordon Campbell’s support for this important cause,” said Kevin Bent, president and publisher of the Vancouver Sun. “More than $10 million has been raised for literacy programs that benefit children right here in B.C. since the campaign started 11 years ago.”
The Province has been matching funds raised through the campaign since 2004, and to date has contributed nearly $2.4 million. B.C.’s matching funding this year will help to support more than 180 beneficiary organizations and help British Columbia continue to lead the country in Raise-a-Reader fundraising. Since its inception in Vancouver in 1997, the Raise-a-Reader campaign and its sponsors have made significant contributions to help improve literacy for children and families across the province.
Since 2001, the Province has announced over $131 million in new literacy programs in support of its goal of making British Columbia the best-educated, most literate jurisdiction on the continent. ReadNow BC is the Province’s comprehensive literacy action plan to help provide adults, Aboriginal people, K-12 students and preschoolers with the skills they need to succeed. ReadNow BC was introduced one year ago and has been supported with nearly $44.5 million in provincial funding. Visit the website at www.readnowbc.ca.
Media
contact:
Lara Perzoff
Public Affairs Bureau
Ministry of Education
250 356-5963
250 920-9040 (cell)
Dale Steeves
Director of Communications
Office of the Premier
250 387-6605
For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.
