A rich legacy that helped millions

As LLC’s national role winds down, let’s celebrate the strength of our unique legacy.

In 1970, a tutor training workshop held in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia set the stage for a way of teaching adults to read that would spread across this country. In the 38 years since that first training event, thousands of men and women have adopted the “Each One Teach One” philosophy. LLC tutors and trainers have volunteered their time with local literacy councils, on provincial boards of directors, and at the national level, with one goal in mind: to increase adult literacy rates, one person at a time.

Along the way, Laubach Literacy of Canada took its place as one of seven national literacy organizations.

Message from Senator Joyce Fairbairn

It is with great pride, affection, and personal sadness that I join in saying farewell to Laubach Literacy of Canada. You have coordinated so many years of lifelong learning, offering Canadians of all ages a fair chance in our society.

Your slogan “Each One, Teach One” has enhanced the opportunity to read, write, and communicate throughout Canada. Your enthusiasm in supporting literacy prompted me to place that issue at the centre of all I do on Parliament Hill and across this remarkable country.

I became a literacy advocate shortly after I entered the Senate of Canada in 1984. My first committee work involved a special study on youth that took a group of us across the country. I was shocked to hear, at every stop, about problems with learning to read among young people. I decided to launch, for the first time in Parliament, a Senate debate on literacy in Canada. Very few who listened understood or believed.

Almost immediately, I received an invitation from Laubach Literacy of Canada to your 1987 meeting in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Not only did you treat me with enthusiasm and kindness, but your history demanded that I carry the flag of literacy and learning just as all of you have done for so many wonderful years.

I will miss your welcoming friendship at the National Office in Ottawa, as will my loudly literate dog, Bailey, who enjoyed his visits. Your gift of knowledge will never be forgotten.

In May 1987, Senator Fairbairn (second from right) attended her first Laubach event. Also in attendance were (from left to right): Luke Batdorf, president of LLC, Mrs. Ruth Stanley, and the Hon. George F.C. Stanley, Lt. Gov. New Brunswick.