Information about our 2nd Annual Literacy Awareness Day

Laubach Literacy Ontario is pleased to invite you to the 2nd Annual Literacy Awareness Day, which will take place February 28, 2011. We will be heading to Queen’s Park with adult literacy
students, practitioners and volunteers to speak to Ministers, MPPs, the media, and all who will listen about the issue of adult literacy in Ontario.

Our event last year allowed us to successfully raise the issue of adult literacy at the highest levels provincially, and to highlight the amazing work and dedication of our community-based literacy
programs, learners, practitioners, and volunteers. We are excited to organize this event again.

Literacy Awareness Day will begin with a press conference stressing the importance of literacy. This will be followed by pre-scheduled meetings that give literacy students, volunteers, and
practitioners the opportunity to meet with Ministers and MPPs directly.

The Luncheon Reception is being held in Room 228 in the Legislative Building (Queen’s Park), from 12 noon – 1:30 pm at Queen’s Park. All literacy support organizations in Ontario, as well
as MPPs from all three parties have also been invited. The Honourable John Milloy will be one of the guest speakers along with LLO’s President and at least one adult literacy student.

We will focus on the following five areas for this event:

• Thank the Government of Ontario for the recent additional funding for literacy programs

• Remind decision makers that literacy programs need ongoing, stable funding to help an increasing number of students

• Request that the temporary enhancement of $45 million/year for expansion be a permanent increase

• Request annual cost of living increases for literacy programs

• Share student and volunteer stories

What you can do to help

1) We need literacy students, practitioners and volunteers from community-based agencies to share their stories. We need you to talk about the importance of Community Based Literacy Programs, how they help our learners and the importance of sustainable funding. We need you to talk about the importance and validity of “independence” as a goal for many of our learners.

2) We are pre-scheduling meetings at Queen’s Park between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on February 28th with MPPs and Ministers, during which groups of three people, including literacy students and practitioners will have the chance to have a constructive discussion with decision makers. We will make every attempt to match your group with an MPP from your area.

3) We need you to spread the word about the event. The main goal of this event is to raise awareness. Please encourage your local MPP to attend and participate. If your MPP can’t participate in the meetings, you are encouraged to set up a similar meeting in your local riding.

4) We need your stories that highlight your successes as well as challenges that we need to see addressed.

This invitation is going out to our members as well as to all community-based programs in Ontario, in cooperation with Community Literacy Ontario. Other literacy support organizations
are invited to the reception, however, as there is limited space at the reception, preference will be given to those organizations who are involved in the meetings with MPPs.

If you and a learner and perhaps a volunteer are interested in speaking with an MPP, and/or want to be put on the invitation list for the reception, please email the attached RSVP response form to LAD@laubach-on.ca by February 14, 2011.

If you or your group is chosen to meet with the MPPs we will send additional information.

If you can help with any of the above, or if you have suggestions to make Literacy Awareness Day a success, please write to us at LAD@laubach-on.ca.

Click on the link below to access the Information Sheet in Microsoft Word:

2nd Annual Literacy Awareness Day-Info Sheet (3).doc