Community leaders and volunteers will join Black Press and the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy on October 9 to raise awareness about the importance of literacy and to celebrate the power literacy has in Rossland.
The 4th Annual Reach a Reader campaign will raise funds for Trail and area’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 Sonia Tavares, Trail and Area 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 Trail and area funds raised will help support the Adult iPad/tablet drop-in. This free program has been a huge success with adults in the community. Many of the adults who have attended the program have had their iPads or tablets set up by someone else. The drop-in has allowed them to learn how to add applications, download games, add contacts and use calendars — as well as take a few photos! The program will run in the afternoons at the CBAL office in downtown Trail starting in mid-October. One program participant said, “I feel more confident, and we always have such a great session!”
You can support the Reach a Reader campaign by making a donation in exchange for a special edition of the Rossland News on October 9. Volunteers will be hitting the streets with papers in hand at Ferraros, and in downtown Rossland between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.. You may also donate online at cbal.org.
To learn more about community-based literacy programs in Trail and Area contact Sonia Tavares, Trail and Area’s Community Literacy Coordinator, at stavares@cbal.org, or (250)368-6770.
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.