2nd Annual Literacy Awareness Day - Postponed to February 28, 2011
In light of the recent "Literacy at Queen's Park" event hosted by the Ontario Literacy Coalition, LLO has decided that holding a similar event in such close proximity would not have as great an impact. LLO's Literacy Awareness Day has been postponed to Monday, February 28, 2011 and will be held at Queen's Park.
We hope that by rescheduling it to February, we will have more information about funding and capacity issues. If we don't continue to get the enhanced funding, we can make a strong case for the impact of that decision. Also, this date is closer to budget consultation time and the impending provincial election.
Join our Literacy Awareness Day public wiki at http://literacyawarenessday.pbworks.com if you are interested in continuing the discussions around funding and capacity concerns.
Garfield Dunlop is our sponsoring MPP and is helping to coordinate this event. We will also be hosting a reception at Queen’s Park to enable adult literacy students and literacy practitioners to share their stories about the importance of literacy. This event is by LLO invitation only! More information will be released soon!
We will focus on the following three areas for this event:
- Thanking the Provincial Government for the recent funding
- Remind decision makers that community-based programs need ongoing funding to help an increasing number of students
- Request annual cost of living increases for our community-based programs
What you can do to help
You can make Literacy Awareness Day a success by joining our committee to help organize and carry out the event. If you are interested please email Sue Bannon at sbannon@csolve.net.
Your donations will also ensure the voice of adult literacy students, volunteers, and practitioners will be heard on February 28, 2011. Like most non-profit organizations, Laubach Literacy Ontario has limited reserve funds to engage in advocacy and public awareness. If you are able to help sponsor the event, we would be happy to acknowledge your support prior to and at the day of the event by having a “Sponsored by” sign, adding your logo to our invitations, or other ways you may suggest. Contact us at literacy@laubach-on.ca for more information or visit laubach-on.ca/donate.
We would be pleased to provide you with a charitable tax return.
The Issue of Adult Literacy
The need for literacy and essential skills training has never been greater. 42% of adults in Canada do not have the minimum literacy skills to cope with everyday life and work. Of those 42%, the 15% with lowest literacy levels have serious difficulty dealing with any printed material. Low literacy skills are directly linked to poverty, poor health and high unemployment.
Our community-based programs are increasingly seeing a broader range of learners, some with increasingly severe barriers. The demands on our programs have increased significantly, and we need ongoing support to meet the needs of our learners.
About Laubach Literacy Ontario (LLO)
- LLO is a grass-roots, volunteer driven provincial organization that represents a network of 57 community-based literacy programs across Ontario (this includes several programs operating out of school boards and one prison program).
- LLO was formed in 1981 as a charitable non-profit organization, and incorporated in 1992. Since the early ‘90’s, we have successfully managed over 30 provincial and federal projects, with the support and involvement of a host of volunteers and member programs.
- Our member programs use the services of trained volunteer tutors and tutor-trainers. Their tutors provide one-on-one and small group instruction to an average of 3,500 adult students a year. With tutors reporting over 200,000 volunteer hours, this represents a contribution of over three million dollars to the Canadian economy each year.
- We are a member of the Ontario Literacy Coalition, Community Literacy of Ontario, Volunteer Canada, ProLiteracy Worldwide (formerly Laubach Literacy International), and part of the Employment Ontario Network.
