Annual giving campaign aims to put a book in the hand of every child
TORONTO, Sept. 17, 2015 /CNW/ - The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of its 2015 Adopt a School program, celebrating its seventh year supporting children's literacy in Canada. Taking place between September 20 – October 10 2015, the annual grassroots campaign unites high needs elementary schools with Indigo, Chapters and Coles stores in their communities to raise funds for new books and educational resources that are in short supply. Along with an expanded fundraising initiative as part of this year's Adopt a School program, Indigo invites Canadians to help this worthy cause by donating in-store and online at adoptaschool.indigo.ca.
High needs elementary schools that benefit from the Adopt a School program don't have the necessary funds to provide students with adequate access to reading materials, and often have outdated and damaged books on their shelves. In fact, the average book available to children is 15 years old or more.1 Canadian high needs elementary schools have budgets as low as $3.00 per student for educational resources, versus the average recommended $30 – $40 per child.2 Furthermore, over the last 25 years, funding for Canadian public school libraries has been drastically reduced and most Canadian children have extremely limited access to contemporary materials.3 Without access to books, and with school libraries facing these conditions, children are less inspired to learn and nurture literacy development through reading.
"Elementary schools in resource-challenged neighbourhoods across our country are suffering with badly out-of-date and poorly resourced libraries," says Jennifer Jones, Vice President, Indigo Love of Reading Foundation. "Through the Foundation's Adopt a School program, we're proud to support under-funded school libraries with the goal of providing one book for every child, so they each have the chance to develop important literacy skills and foster a lifelong love of reading."
How the Indigo Adopt a School Program Works
High needs elementary schools sign up to the Adopt a School online fundraising tool to set up a school profile ('high needs' is assessed based on socio-economic factors as well as a school library budget of $30 or less per student per year)
- Indigo, Chapters and Coles locations across Canada will "adopt" local high needs elementary schools in their communities
- Funds raised in store and online between September 20 and October 10 will support each of the schools registered with the Adopt a School program
How to Get Involved
- Donations can be made in-store at Indigo, Chapters and Coles locations across the country during the three week campaign, and will go directly to each participating store's adopted school
- Canadians can also "adopt" a local school at adoptaschool.indigo.ca, donate to support that school and, through their online networks, encourage friends and family to raise funds for books at their selected school. These "adopts" will help those particular schools participate in the provincial challenge where they can win up to $10,000 in new books
- Adopted schools, and all other high needs elementary schools in Canada, can also fundraise and collect support themselves through the online fundraising website
What's New for 2015
- Indigo believes that all schools should have a chance to easily fundraise for their library needs, and this year the program will open the online fundraising capability to every elementary school in Canada, so they too can raise money for new books
- The top three high-needs schools on the online fundraising tool in each of the ten provinces with the most "adopts" during the campaign period have a chance to win $10,000, $7,500, and $5,000 in Indigo Gift Cards through the Adopt & Don't Stop Giveaway – eligible Canadians can "adopt" once per day for the duration of the campaign for free
- All elementary schools with access to the online portal will be eligible to win $1,000 in Indigo Gift Cards by posting the best Adopt a School blog post during the three week campaign through the Blog Bonus
- For further details on both giveaways, visit adoptaschool.indigo.ca.
Funds raised through Indigo's three week campaign help rejuvenate underfunded elementary school libraries, while also promoting literacy and a true love of reading. Since its inception in 2009, the annual three week Adopt a School campaign has raised over $2.8 million dollars to support more than 1,600 local high needs Canadian elementary schools.
About Indigo Books & Music Inc.
With books always at our heart and soul at Indigo we are about telling stories and creating experiences. Indigo is Canada's largest purveyor of ideas and inspiration to enrich your life, with books, specialty toys, gifts and lifestyle enhancing products that affordably offer intrinsic quality, beauty and timeless design. As the largest book and specialty retailer in Canada, Indigo operates in all provinces under different banners including Indigo Books & Music; Indigo Books, Gifts, Kids; IndigoSpirit, Chapters, Coles and the online channel, www.indigo.ca.
About the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation
Indigo Books & Music Inc. founded the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation in 2004 to address the underfunding of public elementary school libraries. To date it has committed over $19.5 million to more than 2,000 schools through its signature programs. Every year the Foundation grants $1.5 million to 20 high-needs elementary schools so they can transform their libraries with the purchase of new books and education resources. To date the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation's Literacy Fund has committed $16.5 million to more than 190 schools nationally. The Foundation's annual grassroots Adopt a School program unites employees, customer, schools and their communities to raise funds and put even more books into the hands of children. Over the past five years the program has raised over $2.8 million so 450,000 children have a book to call their own. To learn more about the Foundation, visit LOR10.ca.
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1 Source: Love of Reading literacy grant applications.
2 Source: Canadian Books in School Libraries: Raising the Profile. A Research Report for the Association of Canadian Publishers, October 2004. Page 11.
3 Source: The Crisis in Canada's School Libraries: The Case for Reform and Re-Investment. A Report for the Association of Canadian Publishers, June 2003. Page 14.
SOURCE Indigo Love of Reading Foundation
For media requests, more information and images please contact: Indigo Books & Music Inc., Kate Gregory, [email protected], 416-528-8932; MSLGROUP Canada, Marni Zaretsky, [email protected], 416-847-1300
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