Students report on "You Can Do It" promotion
This report was produced by Doug and Bruce, students at the Hamilton Literacy Council in Ontario.
We want to help those less fortunate than ourselves. We are all in a literacy program. We want to open the doors for people who are afraid to face their fear of going into a classroom, or asking for help to learn to read.
We began by contacting a local publishing company to have magnets with the Hamilton Literacy Council logo and phone number made up.
Next we put together 10 Literacy Start-up Kits for a draw. Each kit had a binder, paper, pens, pencils, erasers, highlighters and a $10 coupon. The coupon was good for the purchase of a book of choice from the Literacy Council.
On December 15th, 2004, with the help of Val Louter, Hamilton Literacy Council's Community Relations Officer, we set up an information booth in the downtown mall. We encouraged people who couldn't read to get help; and those who could to help those who couldn't. We handed out the magnets and pamphlets. We also invited people to come to our Council's Christmas Open House.
At the Open House we chatted with tutors, students and visitors. We drew for the Start-Up Kits. Winners were very excited. We presented the kits to the winners that were there and called the others to come to pick up their prize. It was a great success!
We are continuing to remove barriers and open doors by encouraging people to get help. We know from our own experience that they will feel better about themselves and their future when they learn to read better. One day they may even help someone else to read.
We want to thank Dr. Bob Laubach and the Fund Committee for their contribution of $900 to get us started on our goal to help the less fortunate. We also want to thank Val Sadler, Executive Director of the Hamilton Literacy Council for her support.
LLO conference/AGM in Windsor
"Live and Learn" is the theme of this year's annual conference, to be held June 17-19 at the University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario.
The event is a joint project of Laubach Literacy Ontario (LLO), the Windsor Public Library's Adult Literacy Program, and the Learning Disabilities Association of Windsor-Essex County.
The conference brochure will be posted on www.laubach-on.ca. Links to on-line registration will be available on the University of Windsor's website.
Call LLO's office in Waterloo, at 1-866-608-2574 for more information.
This year, the deadline for proposals for the Dr. Bob Laubach Student Fund is May 9. Winners will be announced in June at the AGM/conference in Moncton. See the story on page 2.
Canada Post deadline is coming
LLC National Office sent information about the 2005 Canada Post Literacy Awards to all Laubach Councils in late March. If you know of a student or a tutor who deserves special recognition, please feel free to nominate that person for an award. Your Council has information about how to do this. Alternatively, you can contact National Office to request a nomination package of your own. Canada Post will announce the winners in late August. The deadline for nominations is May 27, 2005.