5. BC student honoured with Co-operators Learner Achievement Award at 2004 PGI

The Co-operators Provincial Learner Achievement Award is given every year to an adult learner who has shown exceptional progress in an Adult Basic Education program. This year Literacy BC received more than 25 applications for this award from around the province. The Learners Committee of the Literacy BC Board assessed the applications and selected the person they believe most exemplifies the principles of The Co-operators Learner Achievement Award.

We are delighted to announce that the winner of The Co-operators 2004 Provincial Learner Achievement Award is Shawna Montpellier of Prince George. Shawna grew up not realizing she had a learning disability, which made her life very perplexing. She would hide her books inside another book, so that people in her school wouldn’t tease her. She remembers being called hurtful names by some of her peers as well as some teachers. She quickly became discouraged in school, and dropped out of high school even though she desired to finish.

Later in life Shawna entered Adult Basic Education. It was the help from the Learning Difficulties Centre of Northern BC in Prince George that provided her with the support she needed. Through perseverance she has recently completed her English 11 with a 92% average. Her desire is to complete her lifetime dream of achieving a high school diploma, take a mechanics course and perhaps even become a famous writer. Shawna is a courageous person who is helping all of us realize that we can work to overcome our challenges. She is an exemplary model of the courage, will and commitment shared by all adults in BC who strive to improve their literacy skills and attain their goals. Congratulations Shawna!

6. Raise-a-Reader Day on September 30

Mark your calendars for September 30! On this day, volunteers and celebrities will hit the streets early in Vancouver and cities across Canada to sell newspapers and raise money for CanWest Global’s Raise-a-Reader campaign. The Raise-a-Reader campaign was created by The Vancouver Sun in 1997 to increase awareness of literacy and raise money to fund children's literacy programs. Since its inception, Raise-a-Reader has raised over $850,000 in support of children's literacy initiatives in British Columbia. The goal for the 2004 Raise-a-Reader campaign is to raise $275,000. One hundred per cent of all the money raised goes directly to organizations that support children’s and family literacy. Last year Literacy BC disbursed its $50,000 share of Raise-a-Reader funds to 50 family literacy programs in BC.