On October 3rd, family literacy took a giant leap forward in B.C. with the launch of the Canucks Family Education Centre in east Vancouver.

Premier Gordon Campbell, Deputy Mayor Sandy McCormick, City of Vancouver, Vancouver Canucks President and General Manager Brian Burke, Dennis Skulsky, Publisher for the Vancouver Sun, Canucks players, media, and other guests were on hand to celebrate and officially launch The Canucks Family Education Centre at Britannia Community Services Centre.

Panago Pizza and the Starbucks Coffee Company provided refreshments at the event.

The Canucks Family Education Centre is an innovative new partnership between Literacy BC, Britannia, and the Canucks for Kids Fund. The charitable arm of the Vancouver Canucks -- the Canucks for Kids Fund -- has committed $150,000 over a three-year period to provide programming resources and staff for the Centre.

The goal of the Centre is to positively impact low literacy levels on Vancouver's eastside, while providing valuable support and research for the service providers at Britannia and those in the surrounding community, the province and the country.

The Canucks are the first NHL team in Canada to demonstrate such commitment to family literacy and learning by assisting in the development of the Canucks Family Education Centre. The focus of the Centre is to:

• provide/demonstrate a comprehensive approach to family literacy and learning, and identify gaps in existing literacy program delivery
• conduct a longitudinal study of the effectiveness of this approach
• develop and deliver foundational training in family literacy.

The comprehensive approach encompasses the following:

• Direct Child (children's literacy programs in schools and pre-schools)
• Direct Adult (adults learning literacy schools via college and continuing education programs)
• Parent and Child Together time (involving parents in their children's education - i.e. in schools, reading together in library programs such as Mother Goose).
• Parent Time (teaching parenting skills to adults which help improve the family's social and economic situation - creating a more learning friendly environment for the child)
• According to Sharon Darling, founder and President of National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), NCFL research confirms that, of children and families who were at risk and participated in family literacy programs, after 10 years 85% of the children were at or above grade level, and 66% of the parents were gainfully employed and/or participating in higher learning programs (i.e. colleges and universities).

In 2002, partial proceeds generated by The Vancouver Sun Raise-a-Reader campaign have been directed by the Canucks for Kids Fund to develop the Canucks Family Education Centre.

Stay tuned …We will be sharing more news about the development of the Centre

The location of the Centre is:

Britannia Community Services Centre
Canucks Family Education Centre
(2nd floor above Eastside Family Place)
1661 Napier Street, Vancouver