Past recipients of the Council of the Federation Literacy Award

The Greater Victoria Alliance for Literacy (GVAL) is the catalyst that brought the literacy community together in the Capital region. GVAL supports local literacy organizations through public outreach and promotion of literacy services, provides networking opportunities, literacy forums and professional development workshops, and represents the literacy community on various advisory committees. GVAL also mentors and provides student placements for University of Victoria students learning about community agencies, has created the Literacy Hubs guide that lists free tutoring and programming spaces in the region, and supports alliance members to procure volunteers and have access to additional professional development workshops through its membership with Volunteer Victoria. As a result of GVAL’s leadership and responsiveness, local literacy agencies have a champion, region-wide support, and representation for their important initiatives. Learn more about the GVAL.

A leader in community literacy, Margaret Sutherland has had a tremendous and positive impact in the lives of literacy learners in B.C., helping people gain the skills they need to engage with the modern, digital world. From her beginnings as a literacy volunteer, to her most recent role as Decoda Literacy Solution’s Executive Director (retired), she has championed literacy at the local, regional, provincial and national level for over 20 years. Throughout her varied career, she has demonstrated innovative thinking and creative, collaborative problem-solving. She has served as editor of the West Coast Reader, a monthly newspaper for literacy and English learners. Margaret continues to raise awareness and has fostered successful partnerships, including in the business sector, that support literacy and lifelong learning throughout B.C.

The Pacific Immigrant Resources Society’s (PIRS) mission is to ensure that immigrant and refugee women and their children can participate fully in life in British Columbia, including through education, employment and everything community life has to offer.

PIRS places a priority on responding to the needs of new learners and increasing accessibility in the community, offering English-literacy programs with childcare services and baby-friendly classrooms.

PIRS supports learners’ overall well-being by helping them to:

• Develop social and emotional connections
• Access mental health support

Trauma-informed practice is a main component in all its programs.

PIRS demonstrates outstanding leadership through innovative partnerships, including through its “train the trainer” digital literacy program and by teaching other service providers to apply trauma-informed perspectives and practices to their work. Through ongoing community dialogue, conversations with learners and formal assessment, PIRS ensures that its literacy programs remain responsive and relevant to the specific needs of participants.

• Read the BC Gov news release: Literacy award celebrates B.C. group empowering immigrant women, children

Story Studio is a non-profit, literacy-focused organization that inspires, educates and empowers youth to become great storytellers, and in doing so, transforms lives and strengthens communities.

Starting in 2011, Studio Story facilitators and volunteers have worked with almost 10,000 youth, taking a fun and creative approach that improves literacy skills and builds self-confidence. Bringing together kids of all ages with authors and illustrators, they produce around 1,500 youth-authored books annually.

Working at the community level, 80% of their programming is directed towards meeting the needs of vulnerable youth and lower-income families. To maximize their accessibility, Story Studio partners with a broad range of community organizations.

Story Studio also lead workshops for teachers, parents and other adult learners, inspiring others to support youth writing and storytelling.

• Read the news release: Victoria literacy leadership group receives national award

For over 30 years, Morie Ford has championed community-based literacy programs for adults and youth in the Lower Mainland. She has worked as a literacy tutor, mentor, facilitator, educator and board chair. Morie helped launch the ONE TO ONE literacy program, which recruits, trains and supports volunteer tutors to work with school-aged children. She also helped incorporate the Writers’ Exchange Society, a creative literacy program that connects Vancouver inner-city kids with volunteer tutors. As the current Family Outreach Coordinator at Mount Pleasant Neighborhood House (MPNH), Morie works with immigrant and refugee families to provide one to one, home-based, intergenerational literacy support. According to her nominators, Morie is a compassionate change-maker who has positively impacted many people’s lives through her hard work, true dedication, and big heart.

• Read the news release: Vancouver community leader, educator receives national literacy award

Sara Grant has championed literacy for over two decades as a children’s librarian, including 19 years as Youth Services Manager for Surrey Libraries. Committed to improving children’s literacy, Sara has helped establish innovative programs like Curiosity Corner, a hands-on station where families can develop their digital literacy skills and Daddy Storytime, a program that supports men to take a more active role in their children’s early literacy. Sara has formed partnerships and advocated for staff training to ensure Surrey’s diverse community needs are met and that families receive high-quality, public library services. Sara and her team continue to help children grow, develop and thrive by supporting creativity, encouraging discovery, celebrating the joy of reading and fostering community connectedness through the public library. 

• Read the news release: Children’s librarian in Surrey receives national literacy award

British Columbia’s oldest independent literacy organization was awarded the Council of the Federation Literacy Award on September 8, for its work to develop literacy skills and build community ties throughout the Central Okanagan Region.

Project Literacy Kelowna Society provides free tutoring in reading, writing, language proficiency, digital literacy, mathematics and financial literacy, with the help of 150 dedicated volunteers. Since the organization opened its doors in 1986, the training it has provided has helped more than 6,000 residents from different national and cultural backgrounds enhance their literacy skills.

• Learn more about Project Literacy Kelowna

Teachers at Burnaby’s Learning Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program are recognized for their efforts to connect immigrants and refugees with literacy skills they need to get involved in their community.  

Many students come to Burnaby LINC unable to read or write in any language. The program helps students improve their English-language literacy and understand Canadian culture through creative teaching methods that develop the real-life skills they need to be successful in B.C.
Teachers at Burnaby LINC teach more than English-language literacy. They also connect students with community organizations that support them as they get used to life in Canada. The program provides these services at no charge to students, and offers free childcare for students during classes through a partnership with Burnaby Family Life Institute. The program has been operating in the Burnaby school district since 1992.

• Read the news release: Burnaby literacy program for newcomers wins Canadian premiers’ award

As a lifelong learner, Helen Domshy has worn many hats. She had a lengthy and successful career as a medical imagist with specific interest in women's health; she pursued further education in Gender Studies; and she has been a vital part of Prince George as the community's Literacy Outreach Coordinator.

Since 2008, she has worked tirelessly to develop and nurture community connections between learners, services, and agencies. She built community capacity by offering Plain and Clear Language workshops, coordinating training for dozens of volunteer tutors, and creating locally relevant programs and materials for learners. She has used her position as literacy outreach coordinator to promote a broad and intersectional definition of literacy that empowers people in all aspects of their lives.

Anne has designed a people-centered approach to literacy that cultivates active citizenship. Her blending of popular and informal education allows individuals to take control of their lives and participate in the common life of their community.

Anne created a series of reflective tool kits to help literacy and community development practitioners deepen their understanding of the role that literacy plays in fostering social, cultural, economic and political participation. 

Anne has influenced how literacy progress is measured within British Columbia. Partnering in research projects, Anne has created a measurement tool that reflects the citizenship competencies of indigenous and remote-rural people.

Anne teaches and mentors within Storytellers’ and SFU professional school of Community-based Economic Development.

Described as “the little library that could”, Powell River Public Library (PRPL) exemplifies the positive impact partnerships and collaborations have in supporting literacy throughout their community.
PRPL engaged a wide range of community partners to develop, deliver and support literacy for all ages and across their region. Partners include StrongStart, Powell River School District, Powell River Youth Centre, Ahms Tah Ow First Nations School, Vancouver Island University, and Vancouver Coastal Health, to name a few. Through these collaborations, PRPL and their partners were able to offer a diverse selection of literacy-related activities, appealing to a variety of learning styles.

PRPL demonstrates leadership in literacy, ongoing collaboration and partnerships as well as a learner-centred approach that contributes to positive literacy outcomes throughout their community.

• News Release: Powell River Library Wins Literacy Award

When LASS first evolved, it approached the scene with the attitude of "what can we do to help or support you" rather than "this is what we’re doing." The representatives of LASS met with other groups, showed respect to the work being done by other volunteers and agencies and truly boosted the ability of many to provide literacy opportunities to those in need.

In addition to fostering collaboration and partnerships in the community, LASS has put into place a variety of well-received, innovative literacy programs that target learners of all ages and across all sectors. Some of the successful literacy programs provided by LASS include: Unplug and Play Family Literacy Week, Save/Spend/Share Financial Literacy Program, Financial Fitness Series, Coyote Café After School Reading Program, "Pawsitive" Reading Program, and the One-to-One Children’s Literacy Program.

Participation in LASS programs has been impressive. Unplug and Play Family Literacy Week involved 1,257 participants and the One-to-One Children’s Literacy Program has involved over 200 community volunteers across 13 schools in School District 83 – North Okanagan Shuswap. Children participating in the One-to-One Children’s Literacy Program increased their reading speed by 10 and 82 per cent and their reading accuracy by 12 and 41 per cent in only four months. Meanwhile, the Coyote Cafe After School Reading Program provides an exciting and engaging opportunity for aboriginal students and supports the districts work toward meeting goals set out in its Aboriginal Education Enhancement.

LASS strives for continual improvement by setting goals, planning actions and strategies, evaluating progress, and celebrating achievements. Many of the activities have received extensive coverage in the media, people are bringing their children and taking part in the events, and the literacy focus is being woven into the culture of the communities in School District 83 – North Okanagan Shuswap.

In summary, LASS exemplifies commitment to community collaboration, innovative literacy practices, and positive literacy outcomes for all learners and is a worthy recipient of the 2012 Council of the Federation Literacy Award for British Columbia.

• News Release: Society Fosters Literacy in North Okanagan-Shuswap (PDF)

With approximately twenty years of service in the literacy field, Dee McRae continues to contribute to literacy through her legacy of body of work, commitment to quality, and innovative literacy practices. Since 1994, Dee McRae has been employed with Northwest Community College (NWCC) where she began as an instructor for Adult Basic Education. She held the position of Regional Literacy Coordinator for 12 years on a part-time contract basis, and then in 2008 she was successful in taking this position over when NWCC added it into their literacy portfolio. Due to her position, and the connections nurtured over the years, Dee has been influential in the development of and funding for seven community adult literacy programs, and has assisted communities around successfully receiving English as a Second Language Settlement grants. At the school district level, Dee was co-chair of the SD54 District Literacy Coalition that piloted one of the province’s first district literacy plans in 2007.

As a lifelong learner, Dee seeks out and helps to organize professional development opportunities. For example, Dee has worked on numerous projects and workshops with Storytellers and Rural Roots including Appreciative Inquiry Workshops bringing together Northwest Community College and community literacy groups. In response to the needs of practitioners and the communities they serve, in particular northern, remote-rural, and aboriginal communities, Dee has published timely and relevant research reports and manuals for practitioners. Dee has also authored and co-authored a number of publications and has presented in BC, Alberta and the United Kingdom through which she has developed an international following around her research.

On any given day, Dee can be seen driving learners to an appointment, meeting with practitioners to help with funding agreements, delivering tutor training in a remote community, providing advice to provincial level organizations about literacy measurement strategies, working on a topical research project, or collaborating with a provincial literacy cohort around provincial policies and programming.

In summary, Dee’s commitment to literacy in BC, and especially in northwest BC, is significant, and has contributed to a healthier and more literate society by:

• Changing the way community literacy services are delivered
• Designing and delivering innovative tutor training
• Influencing how literacy progress is measured locally and provincially; and, perhaps most importantly
• Changing the lives of individual people

In the words of one of her colleagues, "It is a privilege to work beside Dee and it is my hope to continue to have her be an ever present force in my life as well as the students we work with everyday."