Employees donate books and executives volunteer time for Raise a Reader

NEW WESTMINSTER, BC — For many young children growing up, The Wheels on the Bus was an early favourite storybook with a catchy song parents just couldn’t get out of their heads. TransLink staff members were asked to share memories of their favourite books as children to launch this year’s Vancouver Sun Raise a Reader program to support children and family literacy.  For TransLink CEO Ian Jarvis, his favorite childhood books were the Hardy Boys series.  “It was fun to be part of the great mystery and crime-solving stories,” he says.

Sharing favourite books is one of many ways TransLink employees are voluntarily supporting the annual literacy event Sept. 24th. Employees launched a month-long youth book donation drive to support needy schools and non-profit organizations throughout the region.  Books will be donated when the drive ends in mid-October. Staff also shared their favourite photos of reading with children to help promote this important literacy activity. Jarvis, and three other TransLink executives, will join professional athletes, community leaders and notable TV /radio personalities, from 7am until 9am on Sept. 24th at Waterfront Station (Seymour & Cordova), volunteering their time selling copies of the Vancouver Sun. All proceeds go to local literacy programs.

TransLink executive participants include: Ian Jarvis, Chief Executive Officer, Neil Dubord, Chief, Transit Police, Fred Cummings, Vice-President, Engineering and Infrastructure Management, Colleen Brennan, Vice-President, Communications and Customer Engagement.

Quick facts:

• Low literacy skills are a barrier to job training and employment, contributing to low self-esteem and other social issues.
• Over 42% of Canadian adults between the ages of 16 and 65 have low literacy skills (http://www.literacy.ca/)
• The Raise-a-Reader campaign, created by The Vancouver Sun in 1997, helps raise awareness and funds for children and family literacy programs in B.C, such as the Canucks Family Education Centre, Vancouver Public Library Foundation and Decoda Literacy Solutions, formerly Literacy BC. With Ministry of Education support, the campaign has donated millions of dollars to non-profit literacy programs, public schools and community libraries in B.C. The campaign features hundreds of notable volunteers descending on downtown Vancouver streets to exchange a Vancouver Sun newspaper for a donation.

Literacy websites: http://decoda.ca/ (Decoda Literacy Solutions, formerly Literacy BC), http://www.ccl- cca.ca/CCL/Topic/Literacy/WhatisLiteracy.html, www.abclifeliteracy.ca/fld/family-literacy-facts-stats

Quotes:

“Something as simple as reading a bus route map could be a real struggle for someone with literacy challenges. We all benefit from raising literacy levels in children and adults who develop greater self-confidence, do better at school and find employment.” --Ian Jarvis, Chief Executive Officer, TransLink

“Many of these young children may well be our future TransLink employees, from bus operators, SkyTrain attendants, engineers, planners, accountants and Transit Police officers. We have to invest in and support the next generation of young people and our future work force.”--Ian Jarvis, Chief Executive Officer, TransLink

"My favorite book is The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss. Learning to read is critical to a child’s success. It showed me that reading can be fun. Our experiences in the first few years of life are the most important in determining our ultimate success. Metro Vancouver Transit Police are delighted to support the Vancouver Sun and the Raise-A-Reader campaign, to ensure that all children are provided this essential life skill.” --Chief Officer, Neil Dubord, Metro Vancouver Transit Police 

“As many of us have children and understand the importance of raising readers, TransLink got behind this initiative in a big way. Many employees donated their gently used and new children’s books to support literacy programs. That’s a month- long collection effort concluding in mid-October. Decoda Literacy will distribute all the books on our behalf." --Fred Cummings, Vice-President, Engineering and Infrastructure Management, TransLink

“I remember being a voracious reader as a child, but one of my earliest book memories was my constant bedside companion: 365 Bedtime Stories by Nan Gilbert. There was a story for each day consistent with the change in seasons. It incorporated holidays into the stories and allowed me to celebrate with my extended (although fictitious) family on What-a- Jolly Street. My mother started reading the book to me when it was new, but as my reading skills grew, I remember skipping ahead to see what was coming up next. Reading to our children started very early and 365 Bedtime Stories became established in their library as well.” --Fred Cummings, Vice-President, Engineering and Infrastructure Management, TransLink

“Find the time to read with your children or just volunteer in youth literacy programs in schools and communities.”
--Colleen Brennan, Vice-President Communications and Customer Engagement, TransLink

“When I was a little girl, my father read to me every night. My favourite book was a collection of fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The Ugly Duckling, the Emperor’s New Clothes, and The Little Match Girl were stories that I will never forget. I still get a lump in my throat when I think about it.” --Colleen Brennan, Vice-President Communications and Customer Engagement, TransLink

“There is no such thing as a child who hates to read; there are only children who have not found the right book.” -- Dr. Frank Serafini (Dr. Frank Serafini is an author, illustrator, photographer, educator, musician, and an Associate Professor of   Literacy Education and Children’s Literature at Arizona State University.)

*The Wheels on the Bus book by Caldecott award-winning medalist Paul O. Zelinsky, features a story and sing-a-long enjoyed by millions of young readers. Parents may download a free educational app. https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/wheels-on-bus-all-in-one- educational/id543545550?mt=8