THUNDER BAY, ON, June 26, 2012 /CNW/ - Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand
Chief Stan Beardy greeted over 80 enthusiastic young Ontarians
yesterday as they started their training to become literacy camp
counsellors in northern Aboriginal communities.
This is the 7th year for the Lieutenant Governor's Aboriginal Summer Reading Camps
(LGASRC) program, which works to improve literacy skills among youth in
NAN First Nations.
"Promoting literacy in our First Nation communities is an investment in
the future," said Grand Chief Stan Beardy. "Nishnawbe Aski Nation is
pleased to be a part of this program and since its inception has
encouraged and supported hundreds of young people from across the
region to recognize the importance of literacy."
The program is managed by Frontier College, Canada's national literacy
organization, on behalf of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of
Ontario, and began as a pilot project in 2005 by the former Lieutenant
Governor of Ontario. This year, the program will be providing 38 camps
in 29 communities.
Frontier College President Sherry Campbell explains the success of this
project. "We know these camps have a real impact on preventing summer
reading loss and ensuring that kids start the school year ahead of the
game. We're also pleased that many of the counsellors are hired from
within the communities they are serving."
The Hon. David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario praised the
organization and its work: "By incorporating literacy in a range of fun
summertime activities, the camps are making a huge difference in the
lives of thousands of Aboriginal kids. The counsellors are continuing
the tradition of taking education out of the classrooms and into the
farthest reaches of this province, to the young people who need it the
most."
Frontier College is Canada's original literacy organization. Founded in
1899, this non-profit organization recruits and trains volunteers to
deliver literacy programs to children, youth and adults in communities
across the country. Frontier College helps Canadians improve their
literacy and increase their opportunities.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation is a political territorial organization
representing 49 First Nation communities in James Bay Treaty No. 9 and
Ontario portions of Treaty No. 5 - an area covering two thirds of the
province of Ontario.
