Alexis Creek Elementary/Junior Secondary School has been chosen as an online recipient for Indigo’s 2016 Adopt a School program.
This means that the school has its own fundraising page through adoptaschool.indigo.ca where the community can donate during the campaign that is running until Oct. 9.
Principal Shane Sliziak and Caitlin Currie, the teacher who initially applied for the Indigo program said they were thrilled that their school has been chosen for a second year.
They said the school has a large number of First Nations students and the students have been able to choose many more books for the school with First Nations content that they enjoy reading.
“The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation exists to help bridge the gap in provincial underfunding of public elementary school libraries, which we consider to be at the heart of every school,” said Ariel Siller, executive director of Indigo Love of Reading Foundation in announcing the school’s inclusion in the program. “As book-lovers, we understand the power of a book to expand a child’s horizons and open countless doors of opportunity.”
Alexis Creek school will receive 100 per cent of the donations fundraised online. Schools will also receive 30 per cent off all books purchased at Indigo, Chapters and Coles stores.
The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation is also offering a matching program for all online donations.
With every $20 donation received (the equivalent value of two books), the school will receive a third book for free.
The Tell a Story, Give a Story component of the program also offers Canadians an opportunity to support the program without a donation by sharing a short story on the online profile of a participating school.
If that story is selected to be featured on the Adopt a School website, the foundation will donate a book to that school’s library for free!
Siller said Canadian high-needs elementary schools are invited to participate in the Adopt a School program. To be considered high-needs, a school must have an annual library budget of less than $30 per student per year. In some cases, high-needs Canadian elementary schools have reported budget allocations as low as $3 to $5 per student, per year.”