You can’t fall in love with reading if you don’t have access to books.
The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation was formed in 2004 to combat this exact problem.
“We really exist to ensure that all kids have equal access to books,” says Rose Lipton, the executive director of the foundation. “There is a huge inequality in Canada around education and access to literary resources.”
Listen to the podcast with Rose Lipton:
With schools closing in the middle of the year, the support for kids to access reading materials, especially in high-need communities, became even more essential.
The foundation’s response was the Love of Reading Community Response Fund Grant, with a commitment of $1 million in grants to support vulnerable Canadian families through local non-profit organizations.
The East Preston Daycare and Resource Centre, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality, is one of the many recipients of this grant.
“They had a fantastic application and a beautiful vision for how they were going to use these books,” says Lipton.
In keeping with safety restrictions and protocols, one of the early childhood educators from the daycare, Tina Devine, came up with a clever idea to utilize books to promote reading at home. She conducted live, online readings of books from the daycare on her Facebook page for her students to enjoy and stay connected with one another from the safety of their own homes.
This example showcases the purpose and goal of the foundation who hopes participation of reading at home continues.
Lipton hopes that this grant will help people think about the opportunity that this year affords families and reprioritize.
“I hope we see a shift…to more reading at home…there is so much opportunity in this strange and unusual year to shift the movement towards literacy and towards encouraging learning at home.”
Watch Tina Devine's first readding to her daycare kids:
WARNING! There is a monster at the end of this book!❤️
Posted by Tina Janette Devine on Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Raeesa Lalani is an artistic director, journalist, and volleyball coach. She can be found in the audience of a live show, creating stories in digital spaces, or walking her four-legged best friend Manolo.
