Supporting Youth Literacy in New Brunswick

Post orginally appeared on TransCanada's blog.

A child’s reading at the end of grade two is a key indicator of their future literacy skills, their likely academic success, and hence their ability to find a good job later in life.

TransCanada supports local initiatives that help build strong and vibrant communities across North America, and we believe education is the foundation of a community. This is why we support non-profit organizations such as Elementary Literacy Inc. that aims to increase literacy levels among children in elementary schools across New Brunswick to give them a head start in life.

TransCanada’s Energy East Pipeline Project recently donated $25,500 to the Elementary Literacy Friends/Communauté Litteratie Enfants Francophones (Elf/Clef) programs that provide school-based support, in English and French, to elementary-aged New Brunswick students who are struggling with learning to read.

More than 200 children from 15 schools will benefit from the donation across the province.

“Funds donated by TransCanada will support the recruiting and training of volunteers for 15 New Brunswick schools offering Elf or Clef to grade two readers who require additional reading support as identified by their classroom teacher,” says Erin Schryer, executive director, Elementary Literacy Inc. “Funds will also be used to purchase learning resources, including story books, games and writing materials for Elf and Clef volunteers to use with the children.”

Members from the Energy East team visited the École Elémentaire Sacré-Coeur and the John Caldwell School in Grand Falls, with Schryer, to announce the donation.

“It was very nice to visit these elementary schools and see how excited the students were when they were told about the donation and what it meant for their schools. Reading is a fundamental building block to success,” says John Van Der Put, vice-president Energy East Pipeline Project, Quebec and New Brunswick. “The students were very enthusiastic about reading. We hope this donation will continue to foster that love of reading.”

The mission of Elementary Literacy Inc. is to provide striving readers additional time with a tutor, one-on-one, in order to strengthen and build upon the daily instruction they receive from their classroom teachers.

“Children need to learn to read so they can read to learn,” Van Der Put says. “Supporting programs that foster a love of learning in younger generations is always a positive investment. Giving back to the communities where we operate is part of our everyday culture and has been for more than 60 years. It’s something we’re very proud of.”

Learn more about Elementary Literacy Friends/Communauté Littératie Enfants Francophones (Elf/Clef) programs and how they support children’s literacy in New Brunswick.

Learn more about the Energy East Pipeline Project and TransCanada’s community investment program