Day 272 – Raise-A-Reader

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272/365 (September 29, 2010) – I love reading, and today is a special day in Canada – today is Raise-a-Reader Day.

Raise-a-Reader is a year-round initiative that raises funds for family literacy programs across Canada. The program has raised $15-million since its national launch in 2002 and has managed to help educate Canadians about literacy issues and how improved literacy levels have a positive impact on our country’s economy and social wellbeing.

The program was initiated by The Vancouver Sun and originally ran as an isolated fundraiser in British Columbia. Today, the campaign is active across the country with representation by newspapers in all ten provinces and the celebration of Raise-a-Reader Day happens in cities all across the country.

When I was a kid it was hard to get my nose out of a book. I would hide under the sheets with a flashlight and read after I’d been told to go to sleep. I would disappear into the pages and discover new places, new people, new adventures. Reading expands the mind, teaches us about people and places, it fosters conversation, and provides alternative viewpoints to our own. We should all read more and we should all work harder to make sure that everyone is granted the possibilities that lie in reading.