Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
Smoky River Adult Learning welcomed back its Books for Christmas, delivering books to approximately 350 children in the region.
“Smoky River Adult Learning launched this initiative in 2021, initially funded with extra resources from the pandemic,” explains executive director Leslie Carbone.
“It was first introduced to celebrate Family Literacy Day on Jan. 27. Since December 2021, the project has evolved to coincide with Christmas, ensuring that every school child receives the gift of reading during the holiday season, because as Garrison Keillor said, ‘A book is a gift you can open again and again’.”
Carbone says books were provided for students at Ecole Routhier, Ecole Heritage, Providence School, and Eaglesham School. She says, this year, Smoky River Family and Community Support Services funded the books for Grades 5-6 students, while Adult Learning paid for the kindergarten to Grade 4 books.
“As a result, we were able to provide every elementary student enrolled in school with a book,” she says, explaining that the gift of a book is vital for development.
“Twenty-five percent of Canadian households lack a single book. Low literacy levels can significantly impact children’s futures and perpetuate cycles of poverty,” she adds.
Carbone hopes they will be able to continue the endeavour annually, noting that one in five adult Albertans struggle with daily literacy and numeracy challenges.
“Smoky River Adult Learning envisions a community where all adults in the Smoky River region are inspired to engage in foundational learning, empowering them to achieve success and lead fulfilling lives,” Carbone notes.
“Through this initiative, we aim to raise awareness of Smoky River Adult Learning and the services we offer, while also promoting literacy in the home,” she adds.
“Additionally, we provide follow-up activities and literacy tips for parents to help support their children’s learning.”
Carbone says Smoky River Adult Learning is funded by Alberta Advanced Education, and they allocate a portion of their advertising budget to support this project.
“Our goal is to raise awareness among adults in our community about our program and the services we offer,” Carbone says.
“It’s a challenging task (to purchase the books), but I strive to offer books available in both French and English to accommodate our French-speaking students. I typically begin the search in mid-January and finalize my selections by early September.”
This year, kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2 students received a storybook called Otto the Ornament, Grade 3 and 4 students received the Christmas Pig, and Grade 5 and 6 students were given Nish: North and South.
“The schools are incredibly grateful and often send us pictures of the classes receiving their books,” she says.
“The students are thrilled to receive a book and are always excited about the gift,” she concludes.