The Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival has received a $68,900 grant from the provincial government.
The year-long grant will help the festival launch a program that will remove barriers to community literacy programs for children and provide improved access to books and literacy engagement activities over the next year.
The money came from the Resilient Communities Fund grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
“I would like to congratulate Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival on receiving the Resilient Communities Fund grant,” said Jamie West, MPP for Sudbury, in a press release.
“This grant will allow the festival to continue fostering the growth and development of literacy by working to remove barriers experienced by children in our community. I would also like to thank Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival for their dedication to promoting and supporting the love of reading and writing in Northern Ontario.”
Thanks to the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s grant, the festival can hire a project co-ordinator to develop a children’s program that will go into the community (daycare, schools and libraries).
In addition, the funds will be used for a feasibility study that will help to understand the emerging need for literacy engagement activities for children between grades 3-9 who now have weak literacy skills due to the pandemic’s impact on access to books and other literacy supports.
With the feasibility study results, the festival will develop and deliver programs and services that offer access to Canadian children's authors, books, literacy engagement activities and connection to community resources for continued learning.
“By making connections between books, authors and creative activities for children we can help reverse the impact of the pandemic on some of our younger community members,” said Heather Campbell, festival director, Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations, is celebrating 40 years of grant-making in Ontario and making a lasting impact in communities.
Last year, OTF invested over $110 million into 1,022 community projects and partnerships. Visit otf.ca to learn more.
