Birthdays are a time to reflect.

In this special 10^th anniversary issue of The Decoder, we look back at our beginnings. So many people came together to support the effort of creating a new provincial literacy organization in BC.

We pay tribute to literacy leaders by asking a few to share their stories of the early days. We hope that you will also share a personal memory by signing the guestbook on our 10^th anniversary web page.

You can also visit our photo gallery, which provides a timeline of milestones, all made possible by people like you. We say thanks to our staff and board (past and present), literacy practitioners, private foundations, corporate sponsors, individual donors and government funders, especially the Government of BC for making literacy a priority in our province.

Today, I hope that you will continue to support our work by making a donation to the “Good things come in 10s” fundraising campaign.

Birthdays should be fun. I invite you to help us celebrate by entering the #TenTop4Literacy contest and sending us a list of 10 books.

Birthdays are a time to look forward. Our future is being shaped by the programs we are doing today, so:

• children read at a grade level
• youth develop employment skills
• adults learn without barriers to education
• seniors stay connected with the world around them
• immigrant and refugee families adapt to life in Canada

Earlier this year, we refreshed our logo and created a new website as we evolve towards a new era and bright future.

Our next chapter is about to be written. Let’s write it together.

Margaret