Decoda Literacy Solutions, BCs provincial literacy organization, raised more than $43,000 during its annual September is Literacy Month province-wide awareness and fundraising campaign. This total includes a generous matching gift of $10,000 from presenting sponsor, First West Credit Union and its four locally known and trusted divisions: Envision Financial, Valley First, Island Savings and Enderby & District Financial.

The funds will directly support Fostering Literacy, which provides one-on-one tutoring for school-aged children, particularly those in government care, who struggle with reading in 23 communities across the province.

This year’s theme, “Literacy: The Ripple Effect”, highlighted how literacy skills enhance our quality of life at home, in the workplace and within the community, creating a ripple effect that benefits everyone.

“Our 2024 Literacy Month campaign was a tremendous success, thanks to our generous sponsors, partners and donors,” said Sandra Lee, Decoda’s Executive Director. “We saw more mayors proclaim Literacy Month, more landmarks lighting up in purple on International Literacy Day, September 8, and a rise in contest entries.”

A special thanks goes out to CBC, our exclusive broadcast media sponsor, whose support of our campaign generated over 1.3 million impressions and amplified our message across the province. It was inspiring to see all the creative activities organized by community literacy organizations, libraries and schools in celebration. This year’s Team Trivia Challenge was one of our best yet! A highlight was presenting Decoda Program Manager Maureen Kehler with the 2024 Council of the Federation Literacy Award for British Columbia.

Thank you to BC mayors and City Councilors

These communities proclaimed Literacy Month in September:

• District of Kent-Agassiz
• Fort St. John
• Kelowna
• McBride
• Mission
• New Westminster
• Port Hardy
• Richmond
• Surrey
• Trail
• Vancouver

Team Trivia Challenge

More than 100 trivia participants from 14 corporate and community teams competed in Decoda Literacy’s signature fundraising event on September 24 at Donnellan’s Irish Pub in Vancouver. CBC’s Dan Burritt and Nice Guys Trivia hosted the evening.

Watch the video highlights on Facebook

Community Literacy Month celebrations

Literacy organizations, libraries, schools and communities across BC celebrated Literacy Month with their own activities and contests, including StoryWalks™, storytimes, book giveaways, open houses, spelling bees, trivia and more.

The Literacy Ripple Effect Contest

Decoda held a province-wide photo contest asking people what the ripple effect of literacy is in their lives.

Individual draw winners

Four individuals won the draw for a $50 Indigo gift certificate each:

Participants completed the sentence,

For me, the ripple effect of literacy is …

“I read with Daddy. I like Little Blue Truck at bedtime.” – Hayden, age 3.5

“For me, the ripple effect of literacy is my 3-year-old can play board games with siblings. My 6-year-old can count his money and spend/save it. My 8-year-old can read music notes and play piano. My 10-year-old can read high vocabulary picture books to our family. I can garden and follow instructions from the seed packages. I can share my literacy skills with others.” – Christine Shapovalov

“that I learned a new language (English) and advanced my career with mathematics/physics to be a crane operator.” – Alexander Shapovalov

“the boundless spark of imagination and a lifelong journey of self-development. Through books, I have traveled to worlds beyond my own, explored different perspectives, and discovered endless possibilities. Literacy has been my greatest tool for personal growth, helping me cultivate new skills, challenge myself, and continuously evolve. It’s the foundation upon which I build my dreams, turning knowledge into action and inspiration into achievement. Each book I read not only shapes my mind but also pushes me to become the best version of myself.” – Claire Barz

Class draw winner

Mount Waddington Family Literacy Society’s Adult Literacy Program won the class prize for a $200 Indigo gift card.

Here is a selection of answers from the class:

For me, the ripple effect of literacy is …

“Gaining and passing on knowledge to your family and children.”

“Being able to communicate properly and talk better.”

“I’m less afraid of my computer now that I know more about how to delete emails. It was such an obstacle facing all those emails, and every day there’s more. I feel less stress now.”

Literacy Supporters, Sponsors and Donors

Decoda is grateful to all our supporters who contribute to September is Literacy Month.

Gift-in-kind Donors

BC Landmarks light up in purple for literacy on September 8, International Literacy Day

• Bastion Museum, Nanaimo
• BC Place
• City of Vancouver – Local Government and Burrard Street Bridge
• Civic Centre City of Surrey
• Douglas College
• Fort St. John Centennial Park Band Shell
• Parksville City Hall
• Parliament Buildings
• Port of Vancouver
• Science World
• TELUS Gardens
• City of Trail Bridge
• Vancouver Convention Centre
• Government of BC

Government support for literacy

Decoda is grateful to the Government of British Columbia for supporting literacy:

• The Ministry of Municipal Affairs provides $2.185 million in annual grants to Decoda Literacy Solutions to support the co-ordination of community literacy throughout British Columbia.
• This year, for the second time, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs also provided a funding boost. $700,000 was granted for community programs support to enhance their literacy programs.
• The Province donates $500,000 annually to the Postmedia Raise-a-Reader campaign.
• The Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills invests $3.4 million annually to support 102 adult literacy programs in 132 communities throughout British Columbia.

Working together for literacy

Decoda supports literacy practitioners and organizations working in over 400 BC communities.

Results reported in the 2023-24 program year show:

• 17,043 adults engaged in improving their reading, writing, technology and financial skills
• 30,534 adults engaged in their children’s learning
• 38,565 children engaged in early literacy learning
• 22,017 school-aged children and youth engaged in improving their reading, writing and financial skills
• 6,445 seniors engaged in improving their reading, writing, technology and financial skills
• 82,087 people participated in literacy related workshops, seminars and events