The Canadian Community Newspapers Association (CCNA) is proud to be a continuing sponsor of Family Literacy Day, held annually on January 27. This special day promotes the importance of reading and learning as a family with the goal of developing lifelong readers. CCNA-member newspapers are encouraged to use the event to promote literacy within their communities.
ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation, the national coordinator of Family Literacy Day, is asking every newspaper in Canada to run a Family Literacy Day advertisement. Advertisements in a range of sizes can be downloaded from the CCNA website at http://www.communitynews.ca/literacy/.
“Illiteracy in adults can cause a sense of isolation,” explained John Hinds, CCNA CEO. “Often, when individuals learn to read, they immediately turn to their community newspaper as a way to connect them with their environment and community.”
“Literacy is what we are,ÔÇØ said Hinds. ÔÇ£Newspapers are one of the few written works in a household that are relevant to all family members, young or old.”
For more literacy resources and programs, visit the websites of these national literacy organizations:
ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation
http://www.abc-canada.org/
ABC CANADA specializes in public awareness campaigns, and provides promotional support to local literacy groups, and is the founder of Family Literacy Day.
F├®d├®ration canadienne pour l’alphab├®tisation en fran├ºais (French only)
http://www.fcaf.net/
FCAF represents francophone groups and associations that promote literacy in Canada by helping to establish, maintain, and increase the accessibility of literacy services in French in each region of the country.
Frontier College
http://www.frontiercollege.ca/
Frontier College has been responding to the literacy needs of Canadians since 1899 by teaching literacy through its national network of volunteers.
Laubach Literacy Of Canada
http://www.laubach.ca/
LLC helps to raise adult literacy levels by helping people to improve their basic and functional skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, numeracy and other life skills.
Movement for Canadian Literacy
http://www.literacy.ca/
MCL promotes literacy for English Canadians through networking, research, government liaison, learner development, communication, collaboration and building the capacity to support the people and organizations involved with adult literacy education.
National Adult Literacy Database Inc.
http://www.nald.ca/
NALD is a comprehensive, up-to-date and easily accessible database of literacy-related classroom and research materials, available free to download. It also functions as a portal to adult literacy resources and services across Canada and internationally.