The Indigo Love Of Reading Foundation Provides Over $1 Million for Books to Over 550 Canadian Schools

The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation commits $1 million to high-needs elementary schools
across the country through its annual grassroots fundraiser Adopt a School.

TORONTO, Oct. 20, 2017 /CNW/ - The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation is pleased to announce the results of its 2017 Adopt a School program. Running from September 16 to October 8, the grassroots fundraiser united Indigo stores and communities together to raise funds on behalf of local high-needs elementary school libraries. As a result of this year's Adopt a School program, over $1 million will be provided for books and educational resources to over 550 high-needs elementary schools across Canada, impacting more than 185,000 children.

"This is always such a special time of year for the Foundation as we see firsthand the incredible passion and enthusiasm Indigo stores and local communities have for improving childhood literacy in Canada," said Ariel Siller, Executive Director of the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation. "We believe that a book can change a child's life forever and we'd like to thank everyone for their generous support – because of you, 185,000 children across the country will see more than 100,000 new books added to their library shelves."

Each fall, Indigo stores "adopt" a local high-needs elementary school to fundraise on their behalf during the three-week campaign.  In addition to in-store support, the Foundation provides a free online fundraising platform to all the schools that have been "adopted", as well as over 350 other high-needs elementary schools across Canada. Every school receives 100% of the funds raised on their behalf and the schools receive a 30% discount on books at Indigo, Chapters and Coles stores when using program funds.

This year, supporters also rallied behind a school of their choice through 'Tell a Story, Give a Story'. Supporters submitted stories about literacy to adoptaschool.indigo.ca to earn additional books for their school of choice, with no donation required.  In addition, fans "hearted" their favourite story, with the top five most hearted stories in each province entered into a random draw to win an additional $2,500 Indigo e-gift card. The four runner-up schools all received an additional $500 Indigo e-gift card.

The winners of the 2017 Adopt a School Contest are:

British Columbia: McCammon Traditional Elementary School – Grand Prize Winner École John Stubbs Memorial School Seaview Elementary School Westwood Elementary School Sherwood Park Elementary	Alberta: Nose Creek Elementary School – Grand Prize Winner St. Benedict Catholic Elementary School Notre Dame Elementary School Balwin School Weinlos School	Saskatchewan: St. Agnes School – Grand Prize Winner Redvers School Dr. Brass Elementary Hillmond Central School Confederation Park Community School
Manitoba: Riverview School – Grand Prize Winner École O'Kelly School MacGregory Elementary Lord Nelson School Happy Thought School	Ontario: Tottenham Public School – Grand Prize Winner Ashton Meadows Public School St. Patrick Catholic School Monsignor Morrison Elementary Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic School	Quebec: Riverview Elementary School – Grand Prize Winner Terry Fox Elementary School Rawdon Elementary School Joliette Elementary Elizabeth Ballantyne Elementary School
Nova Scotia: L.E. Shaw Elementary School – Grand Prize Winner Hammonds Plains Consolidated School Boularderie Elementary School A.J. Smeltzer Junior High School Discovering Opportunities Class at YCMHS in Partnership with Plymouth School	New Brunswick: L.E. Reinsborough School – Grand Prize Winner Kingsclear Vincent Massey Elementary Westfield School Nashwaaksis Memorial School	Prince Edward Island: Queen Charlotte Intermediate School – Grand Prize Winner Souris Regional School Mt. Stewart Consolidated School West Kent Elementary School Glen Stewart Primary School
Newfoundland and Labrador: St. Edward's School – Grand Prize Winner Hillside Elementary Mary Queen of the World St. Peter's Academy St. Kevin's Junior High	Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon: Nelnah Bessie John school – Grand Prize Winner Harry Camsell Elementary School Ataguttaaluk Elementary School Ataguttaaluk Jr. High School

Since its inception, the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation has committed over $26 million, invigorating over 3,000 school libraries across the country.

To learn more about the Foundation, please visit loveofreading.org

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, the Foundation has committed over $26 million to more than 3,000 high-needs schools, impacting over 900,000 children. The Foundation runs two signature programs each year. In May 2017, the Indigo Love of Reading Literacy Fund grant provided transformational support of $1.5 million to 30 high-needs elementary schools that lack the resources to build and maintain healthy school libraries. To date, the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation's Literacy Fund program has committed $19.5 million to 245 schools nationally. Additionally, each fall, the Foundation's annual grassroots Adopt a School program unites the Foundation with Indigo, its employees, its customers and their communities to raise funds to support high-needs elementary schools across Canada and put even more books into the hands of children. In October 2017, Indigo Adopt a School contributed over $1 million to more than 550 schools. To learn more about the Foundation, visit www.loveofreading.org.

SOURCE Indigo Love of Reading Foundation

For media requests please contact: Marni Zaretsky, Account Manager, MSL, [email protected]; Kate Gregory, Senior PR Manager, Indigo, [email protected]