It was announced today that Algoma District School Board (ADSB) will receive a portion of $1 million in funding from the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation.
ADSB will use the $110,000 grant for new library books and Indigenous student resources.
"The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation (ILOR) celebrates donating $1,000,000 to 30+ schools across the country, impacting 10,000 students and reaching more First Nations on-reserve schools than ever before," says a news release issued by ILOR. "This year, 11 Ontario schools will receive grant funding to dramatically increase their library budgets, ensuring new books and resources are available to thousands of students and creating access to current literature in all schools."
Full text of the release follows:
Today, the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation (ILOR) celebrates donating $1,000,000 to 30+ schools across the country, impacting 10,000 students and reaching more First Nations on-reserve schools than ever before. This year, 11 Ontario schools will receive grant funding to dramatically increase their library budgets, ensuring new books and resources are available to thousands of students and creating access to current literature in all schools. The Indigo Love of Reading grants are part of the organization’s mission to ensure every student has the opportunity to fall in love with reading.
- This year, Indigo is committing a combined total of $540,000 to Ontario schools:
- Birch Cliff Heights Public School ($50K)
- Clifford Bowey Public School ($20K)
- Clifton Public School ($40K)
- Eenchokay Birchstick School ($100K)
- Stanley Public School ($30K)
- The Queen Elizabeth School ($15K)
- Algoma District School Board ($110K)
- Matawa First Nations Education Department ($90K)
- Kettle and Stoney Point First Nation Education Services ($50K)
- Mount Pleasant Village Public School ($25K)
- Henry Coaster Memorial School ($10K)
- The Foundation will award 11 on-reserve schools across Canada with over $300,000 in funding for new books and literacy resources. Book access is a significant challenge for schools across Canada but particularly for remote and rural communities. This investment includes:
- $90K partnership with Matawa First Nations Education department in Thunder Bay, helping five First Nations schools
- $50K partnership Tsuut’ina Education Department in Tsuut’ina First Nation, Alta., impacting two First Nations schools
- $100K partnership with Eenchokay Birchstick School in Pikangikum, Ont.
- $50K partnership with Kettle and Stony Point First Nation Education Services in Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, Ont.
- $10K partnership with Henry Coaster Memorial School in Ogoki, Ont.
- $10K partnership with Kapawe'no First Nation Collegiate in Grouard, Alta.
“Libraries play an important role in student engagement,” says Shelby Ch’ng, education partnership liaison of the Matawa First Nations Education Department. “Northern and remote school boards are underfunded and short on space. Principals and school boards often have to make tough decisions between buying light bulbs for their gym or purchasing new books for their schools. School staff do their best, but with grants like the Indigo Love of Reading Grant, it will not only take the decision burden off the staff, but also go quite far with engaging students in a meaningful way.”
The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation has always recognized the disproportionate need in rural and remote communities, but this year, the foundation refined its application process with the goal of increasing inclusivity and making this funding more accessible than ever before. As a result, this year’s cohort is more diverse and broad-spanning than ever before.
“Accessing culturally relevant and diverse texts is top of mind for this year’s educators,” says Rose Lipton, executive director of ILOR. “The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation is proud to partner with this incredible group of schools and educational organizations to help them realize their literacy goals and get more kids excited about reading.”