MEDIA RELEASE: GENEROUS DONATION HELPS LOCAL RESIDENTS IMPROVE THEIR LITERACY


Project Literacy Kelowna Society is excited to receive a $15,000 donation from The Belmont Foundation in support of its one-on-one literacy tutoring program. The foundation has a longstanding history of supporting the core services of Project Literacy Kelowna.

The Belmont Foundation was started ten years ago by the Rak family and Lauren McCrady (nee Rak) has been instrumental in the foundation donating to Project Literacy.  Lauren is a teacher in the Kelowna School District and when she heard that Project Literacy required funding, she initiated the donations.

“We are thrilled to be the recipients of The Belmont Foundation’s philanthropy over the years.  The foundation’s generosity has helped us to provide and maintain our core services,” says Fern Carr, Project Literacy Kelowna Society Board President. “This recent donation will serve to strengthen the process of matching new learners and tutors as they set out on a journey of learning.”

“We feel strongly about the good work that Project Literacy does to support those in the community to help them attain improved literacy,” says Maureen MacNeill, Trustee for The Belmont Foundation.

Project Literacy annually supports approximately 400 learners with the assistance of 125 volunteer tutors. This means that donations like this one are leveraged with the support of volunteers in order to increase the impact on the community.

At the individual level, Project Literacy sees first-hand the personal benefits of improved literacy such as increased self-esteem, confidence and empowerment. At the community level, improved literacy can contribute to economic growth, reduced poverty, reduced crime and increased civic engagement as well as a host of other benefits. It is a combination of these personal and community-level benefits that makes this work critical to the long-term success of our community.