Literacy Volunteers: Value Added
In September 2004, Community Literacy
of Ontario received funding from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and
Universities and the National Literacy Secretariat to research the economic
and social value of literacy volunteers.
CLO's conducted broad external research and also received a tremendous response to our surveys from Ontario's community literacy agencies and their volunteers. We have produced a ground-breaking research report that not only identifies the economic and social value of literacy volunteers, but also the roles and characteristics of volunteers; key issues for agencies and volunteers related to volunteerism in the 21st century; motivational factors; needs of literacy volunteers; and issues related to the management and support of volunteers.
CLO has also developed a comprehensive toolkit with practical and valuable resources based on the volunteer management needs identified by literacy practitioners during the research phase of the project. The kit also includes a CD-ROM with blank versions of all the tools and resources to allow practitioners the opportunity to adapt and use tools for their individual agencies. The research report and kit were circulated to all CLO members in December 2005. These resources are also available for purchase or may be downloaded free of charge from CLO's website at: www.nald.ca/volman.
CLO's Annual General Meeting
CLO's Annual General Meeting was held on October
20, 2005 at Toronto's Primrose Hotel. The day began with informal
networking that allowed our 45 participants to visit displays from
CLO, AlphaPlus, Laubach Literacy Ontario, Festival of Literacies and
the Golden Oaks Adult Book Club.
The Annual General Meeting was held after lunch and CLO members elected their Board of Directors for 2005/2006. We are pleased to welcome two new directors to our board: Johanna White (Red Lake) and Lindsay Kennedy (Wellington County). CLO members also bid a fond farewell to CLO's two retiring board members: Jan Goatcher (Ottawa) and Penny Smith- Jensen (Dryden).
Garfield Gini-Newman, a Senior Consultant with the Critical Thinking Consortium and an instructor with OISE/University of Toronto, delivered a lively and thought-provoking workshop that established the link between brain research and critical thinking to help promote literacy. This workshop received rave reviews and ended the day with practitioners feeling inspired and invigorated. CLO received many requests to invite Garfield back next year. So for those of you who missed this wonderful workshop, you may get a second chance next year!