The provincial government will match the nearly $17,000 raised through Postmedia’s 2016 Raise-a-Reader campaign to support Island literacy.
The donations matched by the province’s Department of Workforce and Advanced Learning will fund the PEI Literacy Alliance’s Summer Tutoring Program for Kids and PEI Volunteers for Literacy Program that provide free tutoring to children and adults.
“Literacy, learning, and skills training are vital to unlocking one’s potential and preparing Islanders of every age for education and the workforce,” said Workforce and Advanced Learning Minister Richard Brown. “Which is why we are so pleased to match the donations raised by the annual Raise-a-Reader campaign for literacy.”
The PEI Literacy Alliance has a long track record of success developing partnerships and fundraising with its annual Golf Tournament for Literacy and numerous other events. As a result, the alliance is able to award scholarships and bursaries to adult Islanders who return to school and support children, adults, and families in Prince Edward Island.
“On behalf of our board of directors and staff, I would like to thank the department for their continued support of our programs and services,” said Chair of the PEI Literacy Alliance Ron MacDonald. “While we continue to raise funds through other means, it is crucial to have funding partners within government that enable us to focus on meeting the literacy and essential skills needs of Islanders.”
Since Raise-a-Reader’s national launch in 2002, the campaign has raised more than $20 million for family literacy programs across Canada. Postmedia has been holding Raise-a-Reader day campaigns in Prince Edward Island since 2006, raising more than $100,000 for family literacy in Prince Edward Island.