Chilliwack preschool receives $10,000 literacy grant to boost, update library collection

A Chilliwack preschool has received a literacy fund grant worth thousands of dollars to help fill its library shelves with hundreds of new books.

Chilliwack Landing Preschool and Kindergarten was given a $10,000 grant from the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation. The school is one of 30 “high-needs” elementary schools across Canada which will receive some of more than 100,000 books, the foundation said in a press release.

The current library budget at Chilliwack Landing Preschool and Kindergarten is insufficient for its student population and on average, most books are a decade old. The Literacy Fund Grant will provide the school with updated literature for their library and allow the students to further enrich their literacy skills.

Over the past year, the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation recognized the difficulties that many children across Canada were faced with and took action to support underfunded elementary schools across the country to ensure students had books in school and at home.

“This past year, Canadian students were challenged by lockdowns and many shifted to virtual learning, limiting their access to books,” said Rose Lipton, executive director at the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation. “We are so inspired by the resiliency and commitment to literacy from these schools and students, despite the barriers of the pandemic.”

School recipients of the 2020-21 Literacy Fund Grant were able to make sure that, despite the conditions of the pandemic, their students could still fall in love with reading. More than $1 million in grant money was handed out during the 2020-21 school year.

This year’s grants will fund the purchase of more than 100,000 books to completely revitalize the libraries of these 30 schools, benefitting thousands of students for years to come.

Since its launch in 2004, the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation has committed over $33 million to more than 3,000 high-needs schools across Canada, impacting over one million children.

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Chilliwack Landing Preschool and Kindergarten has served the development of children’s literacy skills within the Skwah First Nation community and surrounding area for 40 years and incorporates traditional activities into daily routines to further strengthen family traditions, elder teachings, and community involvement. Cultural Advisors visit the students to tell stories and drum with the students every other week.

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