Local Neighbourhood Literacy organization receives Canada Post Community Foundation support

On October 16, 2019 Canada Post Community Foundation presented $2000 to
Quality Learning NB for neighbourhood holiday literacy initiatives.
 L-R are:  Michele McGree, Local Area Supervisor; Chris Victory, Local Area Superintendent;
Cheryl Brown, Literacy Coordinator (QLNB);
Nancy Blizzard, Regional Area Manager; and Mary Hunter, Retail Clerk.

Quality Learning New Brunswick has received $2000.00 from the Canada Post Community Foundation for an important project in Saint John’s North End Neighbourhoods: The Holiday Book Giveaway.

Quality Learning New Brunswick is an organization led by volunteers that offers literacy supports families and communities request in order to make healthy choices.  This project grew out of relationships that were formed during Storytent events and programming in focus neighbourhoods.  “For various reasons, obtaining great children’s books that will facilitate the love and joy of reading can be challenging for many families,” says QLNB Storytent Worker Wendell Dryden.   “We were first asked to read stories or do puppet shows at neighbourhood association’s Christmas parties, and over the years, the project has become what it is now:  we add new books to the gift giving for all the children in attendance, and provide open-ended pro-literacy activities during neighbourhood events in December.  In another neighbourhood, we add new books for each child to Family Christmas Boxes provided by Rivercross Mission.” Book ownership is an important part of a young child’s reading development journey.  Janet McLaughlin, President of the Crescent Valley Community Tenant’s Association, indicates that “We are very excited to get the books at Christmas and at other times of the year.  We get most of our children’s books from these types of events.”  Last year this project saw more than 250 books go home with children from birth – 12, and the Canada Post grant will help reach even more children this year.

Canada Post: “Canada Post is proud to help organizations and projects that make a difference in the lives of Canadian children and youth.  Through the generosity of our customers, the Canada Post Community Foundation is able to fund important programs in communities across the country every year.”

About the Canada Post Community Foundation

The Canada Post Community Foundation for Children’s vision is to help ensure every child in Canada is happy, healthy and part of a community that supports and cares for them. Its mission is to have a positive effect in the lives of children in the communities Canada Post serves by supporting registered charities, school programs or local initiatives that benefit children. It has granted more than $8 million to over 750 community organizations across Canada. To learn more about the Foundation, visit canadapost.ca/community.

Event Tents - 2019

We've wrapped up our 2019 Event Storytents for the summer.  This year's Community Literacy Project saw us visiting Fredericton Junction, Browns Flat, Grand Bay-Westfield, Campobello Island and several Saint John parks and neighbourhoods; four urban and four suburban / rural communities.

We believe a storytent can enhance a community fair, a school festival, or an organization’s summer picnic, and also send a positive message about literacy.  Effective event tents promote a reading culture.  They demonstrate that reading can happen anywhere.  They encourage children and families to keep books and reading in their quality pictures of a fun outing.  As well, they provide a way to promote or outreach additional services; or to gauge interest in new programming.

We met 370 children and adults over the eight events, and were able to give away 770 quality New Brunswick books for children and families; books written and illustrated by New Brunswickers as part of a project undertaken by the University of New Brunswick.

Major support for this 2019 Quality Storytent Project came from the Province of New Brunswick, Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture, and the Province of New Brunswick, Department of Social Development.  Additional funding was provided through private donors.

Brundage Point River Centre Little Free Library Grand Opening

Local youth Keegan (far left) and Chase (far right) join (L-R)  MLA for Kings Centre
Hon. Bill Oliver, Quality Learning New Brunswick representative Wendell Dryden
and Grand Bay-Westfield Mayor Grace Losier in cutting the ribbon
and officially opening the Brundage Point Little Free Library.

Quality Learning New Brunswick is very pleased to partner with the Town of Grand Bay-Westfield to create a Little Free Library at the Brundage Point River Centre to make borrowing books more fun and accessible for families in this neighbourhood.  Funded by the New Brunswick Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, with the Saint John Free Public Library as a partner, this Little Free Library can house approximately 50 books for patrons of all ages.  With no fees or fines, patrons are encouraged to take a book, and bring it back when they’re done.

According to the Little Free Library Organization

Through Little Free Libraries, millions of books are exchanged each year, profoundly increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds.

Having access to books is an important factor is learning to read and in keeping up your reading skills.

The Grand Opening of the Brundage Point Little Free Library took place on Wednesday, Aug 7, 2019 at the Brundage Point River Centre Playground.  Mayor Grace Losier and Hon. Bill Oliver, MLA were on hand to deliver messages and stories of inter-generational reading and to cut the ribbon. We had a lovely donation of several books from a local resident, and Mayor Grace donated a copy of  Abigail Eats Bugs by Grand Bay-Westfield resident Virginia Pye.  Local residents Pat and Keegan were the first to borrow after the opening.

 

Hallowe'en 2018

Can you guess which children's book's characters we were this year?

One hundred and eighty-six books and journals given out at Trunk-'R-Treat - one of our favourite family literacy events of the year.

Quality Storytents 2018: Multi-Neighbourhood Community Literacy

Our major 2018 Community Literacy Project consisted of eight event-based storytents (five urban and three suburban/rural) as well as free books for children and families.

We believe a storytent can enhance a community fair, a school festival, or an organization’s summer picnic, and also send a positive message about literacy.  Effective event tents can promote a reading culture.  They demonstrate that reading can happen anywhere.  They encourage children and families to keep books and reading in their quality pictures of a fun outing.  As well, they provide a way to promote or outreach additional services; or to gauge interest in new programming.

In 2018 we ran storytents at

• Celebration Sunday, RiverCross Church (Saint John)
• Brown’s Flat Days, River Road Hub (Brown's Flat)
• Passport2Parks, Rockwood (Saint John)
• Canada Day Celebrations, Brundage Point (Grand Bay - Westfield)
• Passport2Parks, Chown Field (Saint John)
• 50th Anniversary Celebration, South End Daycare (Saint John)
• Crescent Valley Fun Days, Crescent Valley Community Tenet’s Association (Saint John)
• Come Home Week, Tri-County Complex (Fredericton Junction)

We met 169 adults and 226 children over these eight events.  We were also able to distribute 80 packages of Books for Children and Families, a New Brunswick authored collection of 10 books for pre-school children and their families developed by the University of New Brunswick.

Major support for 2018 Quality Storytent Project came from the Province of New Brunswick, Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture and the Province of New Brunswick, Department of Social Development.  Additional funding was provided through private donors.

Quality Storytents 2018: Anglin Drive

We were pleased to offer storytents on Anglin Drive again this year.  Tents ran for an hour and a half on Tuesdays over a six week period.  Twenty-five children - with attendance ranging from 6 to 18 children per session - recorded a total of 260 books read.  Many of these children were already patrons of the small community library in the the Anglin Drive Tenant's Association building, and we will be keeping the this library open throughout the fall and winter as part of our ongoing partnership with the Association.

Additional support and partnering for this project came from the City of Saint John, the New Brunswick Department of Social Development, and the Saint John Free Public Library.

Talk Read Sing Create through play Everyday

F A C E Homepage

Quality Learning NB joined hands with the Saint John Free Public Library to bring books and reading to the FACE-AS (Family and Child Education - Anglophone South) Family Games Night.

FACE educators started a fun and creative outreach, hosting a monthly games night at the Somerset Community Centre.  QLNB brought our storytent books to set out on a warm and wonderful blanket provided by Vanessa and Stephanie.  A library outreach worker joined us to read to and with children and families; as well as making space for children and families to read among themselves. We also had books for children, youth and adults to take home at the end of the night (part of our Book Ownership Program).

Your public library and 'Every Child Ready to Read'

Brown’s Flat Irving Little Free Library

Through Little Free Libraries, millions of books are exchanged each year, profoundly increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds.
- Little Free Libraries

Access to a choice of good books is an important part of gaining and keeping our reading skills. QLNB has been very pleased to partner with Alvin Legere, the proprietor of the Brown’s Flat Irving, to create an in-store Little Free Library. The library offers a selection of about 200 books for adults, youth and children, making book borrowing easier for adults and families in the community. As with all of QLNB's library projects, there are no fees or fines: patrons are encouraged to take a book, and bring it back when they’re done. We are in to visit the library most Sunday mornings; swapping out books and ensuring a continued supply of early learning kits. We also do our best to honour requests (check out the by-request westerns!).


This project is funded through the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development as part of the New Brunswick Comprehensive Literacy Strategy, and their promotion of the message Talk, Sing, Read, Create, Play Everyday! The Saint John Free Public Library is our major partner.


The Grand Opening of the Brown’s Flat Little Free Library took place on Tuesday, May 15 with a small ribbon cutting ceremony.  In the first two weeks, 54 books - more than a quarter of all titles - were borrowed, and the pace has hardly slackened since.

 In attendance at the opening were special guests MLA Bill Oliver; Greenwich Recreation Association Secretary, Deb Ryan; Community Services Librarian Kathryn Howe, Heather McKend, Head of Children’s Services / Quality Learning NB President,  and members of the community.

Book Ownership Program

Quality Learning NB greeted spring this year by giving out books to participants of preschool children at both the monthly Games Night offered by FACE (Family and Child Education) and the Babies in the Library (Saint John Free Public Library) outreach at Glen Falls school.

We believe book ownership is an important part of helping young children and families put reading and writing in their quality worlds; joining what Frank Smith calls "the literacy club."*  We were fortunate to be able to purchase some very effective books with money provided through a fund jointly established by BEST (Building an Early Start Together), the New Brunswick Children's Foundation and the Greater Saint John Community Foundation.  Popular give-aways included well loved classics such as Goodnight Gorilla, Dear Zoo, Where's Spot and Goodnight Moon.

*  Frank smith, Joining the Literacy Club: Further Essays Into Education

Year in Review 2017

Our 2017 QLNB Activity Report is now available as a pdf.