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LASS extends appreciation

On behalf of the Literacy Alliance of the Shuswap Society (LASS) to express our heartfelt thanks to all supporters.

I am writing this letter on behalf of the Literacy Alliance of the Shuswap Society (LASS) to express our heartfelt thanks to all of the community volunteers and supporters who wrote letters and emails of support when our literacy co-ordination funding was suddenly eliminated in February.

Although this was initially a shocking and disappointing situation for LASS, we quickly witnessed a strong and passionate outpouring of community support for literacy and LASS.

Many letters and emails were written by dedicated One to One reading volunteers, computer tutors and learners, adult literacy learners, community organizations, local government and local businesses, all of whom recognize the critical importance of addressing literacy needs in the North Okanagan-Shuswap.

As a result of this incredible support for community literacy, LASS’s co-ordination funding from Decoda (our provincial literacy organization) via the Ministry of Education has been restored.

We would also like to publicly recognize and thank our Shuswap MLA, George Abbott, and the staff at the Salmon Arm Observer, who played key roles in helping to get our funding restored.

In addition to this funding, LASS recently received a Community Gaming Grant and a New Horizons for Seniors Grant. Now LASS can continue to move forward to help address the literacy needs in the North Okanagan-Shuswap.

Thank you again to all of our dedicated community supporters. You answered our plea for help and made your voices clearly heard when our funding was drastically eliminated.

You have truly made a difference in the lives of literacy learners in our community and we thank you for your energy, commitment and passion for literacy.

 

Jennifer Findlay

Literacy outreach co-ordinator for the Literacy Alliance of the Shuswap Society