In 2024 we joined organizations to support a national literacy strategy, held our biennial literacy conference, celebrated our program manager Maureen Kehler’s Council of the Federation Literacy Award, shared training opportunities and success stories, and created new tools to support literacy programs and organizations in more than 400 BC communities.

Our impact

• 400 communities supported in British Columbia
• 60,582 youth and children engaged in community-based literacy programs
• 54,022 adults and seniors engaged in improving their or their children’s literacy skills

Here are the monthly highlights of our work in 2024!

January: Family Literacy Week celebrated

• Family Literacy Week brought families together to learn through play with the theme “Let’s have a family party!” We shared party activities that promoted literacy and held a photo contest.
• We celebrated the life and generosity of Sheron Diane Austin, whose legacy gift to support children’s literacy will leave a lasting impact.
• We highlighted Decoda’s office administrator Natasha Loh in Promoting literacy at work and home.

February: Federal Budget National Literacy Strategy recommended

• We joined 60 Canadian organizations to support the submission to the Pre-budget Consultation in Advance of the 2024 Federal Budget recommending that the Government of Canada invest $1 million to design a National Literacy Strategy (2025-2027) that will establish national standards for child, youth and adult literacy and foundational skills proficiency.

March: Budget recommendation and literacy advocacy training shared

• We shared the Government of Canada Budget 2024 Report of the Standing Committee on Finance Recommendation 127: Ensure core funding for literacy organizations and invest in a new national workplace literacy program delivered in partnership with trade unions.
• We shared highlights from a Decoda webinar on How to Advocate for Plain Language.
• We shared a guest blog from BC Teal: Bridging Literacy Gaps.

April: Biennial Literacy Conference held

• We welcomed more than 200 literacy practitioners to the Decoda Literacy Conference on April 17-19. Read: Decoda Literacy Conference 2024 highlights.
• RBC employee volunteers helped us collate literacy conference participant packages and RBC contributed a $1500 grant to support the conference.
• We shared the story Education reduces inmates’ risk of re-offending and the impact of consistent funding.

May: A mother’s learning celebrated and Decoda’s Board of Directors introduced

• We shared the adult literacy story Literacy programs life-changing for immigrant new mother.
• We introduced Decoda’s Board of Directors.
• We shared highlights of Craig Alexander’s keynote address in a news release: Community challenges tied to low literacy levels in B.C. says economist.
• We hired Alex Jang as Decoda’s library technician.

June: Adult literacy and the BC Summer Reading Club celebrated

• We supported Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy’s #LiteracyIs campaign with inspiring adult literacy stories.
• We promoted the BC Summer Reading Club.
• We hired Gurleen Kaur as Program Assistant for IPALS and shared how the benefits of her experience in Program Support Assistant connects to immigrants.

July: Province invested in adult literacy

• The Province invested $3.4 million to support the Community Adult Literacy Program (CALP).
• We shared Decoda staff summer reading blogs and summer reading tips.

August: Literacy Carnival supported

• We had so much fun being a part of South Vancouver Neighbourhood House’s Literacy Carnival at Vancouver Public Library Fraserview Branch.

September: Literacy Month celebrated; Decoda program manager award

• September is Literacy Month, under the theme “Literacy: The Ripple Effect,” raised awareness and funds for literacy programs across the province. Congrats to Team Best Guess 24 on winning the Team Trivia Challenge and thanks to the Top Fundraising Team: Stanley is brat. Watch video highlights from the Team Trivia Challenge.
• Thanks to all our corporate sponsors and individual donors, we raised over $43,000. Read the details and see a list of Literacy Month supporters.
• Decoda Program Manager Maureen Kehler was awarded the 2024 Council of the Federation Literacy Award for British Columbia.
• We shared the Fostering Literacy in South Vancouver success story.
• The B.C. government generously donated $500,000 to the Postmedia Raise-a-Reader campaign, supporting family literacy programs across the province.

October: RBC volunteers, Wellness Fair support, new BC Literacy Network

• RBC employees volunteered to prepare literacy kits for immigrant and refugee families in the IPALS (Parents as Literacy Supporters in Immigrant Communities) program.
• Decoda staff attended the Fairmont Wellness Fair in Vancouver to promote The Westcoast Reader newspaper and the Decoda Library.
• We launched the BC Literacy Network for practitioners to share best practices and resources.

November: fundraising success

• Thanks to the generosity of PavCo & BC Place Community Benefit Program, we auctioned two Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets and raised $13,260 to support adult learners and reduce barriers to learning.
• We shared highlights from AI training in Unlocking the Power of AI in the Classroom.

December: AGM, Board changes, Annual Report

• We held our annual AGM and said farewell to outgoing Board Chair Dr. Ralf St. Clair and Board Director Dr. Pat Campbell for their four years of leadership and service. Earlier this year we said farewell to Board Director Diana Twiss at the end of her board term.
• We welcomed new Board Directors Nathan Hume and Suzanne Smythe and thanked our continuing Board Directors: Tracy Defoe (newly elected Board Chair), Eunice Bantok (newly elected Secretary-Treasurer), Manmeet Bhatia and Lynn Green.
• We published our 2023-24 Annual Report with highlights of the August 2023 – July 2024 program season.
• We shared a tribute to the creator of Writing Out Loud in Deborah Morgan’s lasting impact on adult literacy.
• We shared our concerns about the Federal Government cuts to immigrant support services, including our impactful IPALS (Immigrant Parents as Literacy Supporters) program in a news release Federal Government Quietly Cuts Funding for Long-Standing Immigrant Support Services.

Throughout the year

• Our Read All About Lit blog highlighted literacy news and resources weekly.
• We loaned more than 234 literacy materials through the Decoda Literacy Library.
• We hosted 11 professional development webinars on eight topics attracting a total attendance of 494 literacy practitioners.
• With an average readership of 60,000, we published 10 issues of The Westcoast Reader, a newspaper and online resource for learners seeking to improve their English reading and language skills.
• We shared literacy news, resources and events to our social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
• We supported a network of 98 Literacy Outreach Coordinators who provide community-based literacy programs in over 400 BC communities.
• We supported 18 IPALS programs, serving more than 300 immigrant families who learned new strategies to support their child’s learning in fun and interactive ways, while responding to their cultural and linguistic needs.
• We provided BC’s 102 Community Adult Literacy Programs (CALP) with training, resources and support.

Planning 2025…

We’re getting ready for Family Literacy Week January, 26-February 2, 2025, with the theme ‘Learn to be Green, Together.’

Your support makes a difference

None of our work would be possible without assistance from government funders, corporate partners, private foundations and individual donors.

To renew your support in 2025, donate today!

Donate

We look forward to another year of growth, impact and shared successes. Thank you for being part of our journey.

About us

Decoda Literacy Solutions is BC’s provincial literacy organization. We support community-based literacy programs and initiatives in over 400 communities across BC by providing resources, training and funds.

Our work supports children and families, youth, adults, Indigenous and immigrant communities to help build strong individuals, strong families and strong communities.