Nearly 40,000 children receive reading as a gift

On the occasion of the 15^e anniversary of the “Reading as a Gift” program, the Literacy Foundation succeeds once again in offering a new book to thousands of children, thanks to generous donations from the general public through hundreds of bookstores and libraries.

Since 1999, many donors have taken part in this vast campaign. More than 360,000 books have thus been given to young people who do not - or very rarely - have the privilege of receiving new books. This gift thus takes on a most appreciated face!

In order to collect these precious gifts, 145 bookstores and more than a hundred libraries put their hand in the dough. The books generously donated by the general public were then inspected and sorted. The distribution took place in more than 500 establishments in the province, including elementary schools, early childhood centers (CPE), family community organizations (OCF) and non-profit organizations.

Thanks to a collaboration with the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation, a little more than 20,000 books were intended for customers aged 0-5. Considering that 40 % of Quebec adults read only rarely, or even never, this action aims to develop the pleasure of reading from early childhood. This is obviously a key moment for the acquisition of habits that will last a lifetime.

Parents have an important role to play in the development of this healthy activity, and some of them want to improve their reading skills in order to better equip their children. With this in mind, in order to support and inform parents, each donation is accompanied by an informative brochure on the Info-Alpha reference line (1-800-361-9142).

To find out more about the mission of the Literacy Foundation, which works with children as well as adults, or to make a donation, consult this website.