About Us

History

Our story

In the early years, READ was located in this house on Linden Avenue

Parents wanting to get their children extra assistance with reading, writing and mathematics helped create the READ Society in 1976. More than 30 years later, this non-profit organization continues to meet the needs of the learning community through programs for children, youth and adults across Greater Victoria.

From the beginning, READ’s founders were determined to make an organization that would thrive for decades. Both then and now, programs grow in response to the community.

“READ is continually reinventing itself to meet the needs of its students and those who fund the programs.  However, the commitment to our basic tenets remains constant,” says Helen Thomas, who has been a READ teacher since 1987.

One of the most significant principles is a strong belief and commitment to the benefits of individual help for learners, delivered by professional teachers. Throughout the decades, READ has always offered sessions with one or two learners per teacher as well as instruction in small group settings. In the early days, teachers took students into their own homes, “quietly doing what we could,” says Selina Farrar. She retired from READ in 1996 but still maintains close ties with current staff. “We wanted to get something started for children who were just drowning.”

She and three other teachers – Linda Anderson, Charlotte Etches, and Veronica Izzard – were involved in the creation of “Project Catch Up,” for kids that needed specialized help. Teachers received specialized training as well. “The whole policy was that no child would be slotted into a ready-made program,” Farrar says.

The official start

In October 1976, the non-profit society Victoria Reading, Evaluation and Development Society, or R.E.A.D. was officially created. The acronym was used until 2002, when the name was changed to the Victoria READ Society.

After only two years as a society, programs had grown so much that a house was purchased at 720 Linden Avenue in Fairfield, with funds from the Vancouver Foundation. Operations expanded to Langford and Sidney. After just eight years, READ “burned the mortgage” on the Linden property. In 2007, amidst much reminiscing and some sadness, the property was sold as READ again changed to meet the community’s needs.

Veronica Izzard, who now lives and teaches in California, recalls the Linden Avenue years with fondness. “It was a fun learning experience in a place where we all seemed to work from the heart,” she says. She relished the small group instruction, as progress was easy to monitor.  “Students were happy because they witnessed their own success in developing literacy skills,” she says.

Today, Izzard’s words are echoed by current teaching staff who also say they like being able to really get to know their students, build on foundation skills one step at a time, and bridge learning gaps. “READ still puts the student and their learning first, which is why I love my job,” says Janie Harrison, who started as a teacher’s aide in 1977, and came back as a teacher in 1986.

Adult learners get their own programs

From the early days, it was apparent adults in the community also needed help with their literacy skills. “Adults that would hear about us would ask if we had time to teach them too,” says Farrar. Formal programs for adults started in 1978, and READ has continued to meet the community’s desire for life-long learning through numerous programs.

Since 1985, READ has offered full-time classes for adults wanting to improve their skills to re-enter the workforce, and for new immigrants working on their English skills.  Today, adults can also get instruction in computer use. New programs are bringing READ’s teachers onto First Nations territory to deliver culturally-relevant programs close to home.

For many years, READ has helped employers and employees address workplace learning and literacy, including piloting  English as a Second Language For Work in 1994. Based on this past work in this field, READ launched the Workplace Learning Project in 2008.

Unique initiatives part of the READ tradition

Along the way, READ has pioneered several innovative initiatives and taken a leadership role to raise awareness in the community about literacy issues. These activities include

• developing The Learners' Network in 1988 (transferred to Literacy Victoria in 1990)
• establishing Wordstream Press – A Learners Press, which published the writing of adult learners until 1994
• sponsoring family literacy conferences including Ripples on the Pond in 1999 and Literacy Across the Spectrum in 2000
• coordinating Random Acts of Poetry , an annual national phenomenon launched in 2004 with poet Wendy Morton
• compiling  The Family Literacy Directory and on-line map, which included input from 46 organizations, including schools, businesses, government and community groups
• participating in the Regional Literacy Advisory Group since it began in 2006
• publishing  the bi-annual InWords, a collection of writing by child and adult learners (see some samples in our Student Showcase)
• participating in projects for adult literacy accountability with Literacy BC
• organizing literacy conferences for school district teachers during province wide professional development days

READ has witnessed numerous success stories, some of which have also been recognized by the larger community. Two adult learners, Art Boudreau and Ellen Szita, won Canada Post Literacy awards. Boudreau also published Elephant Mountain, a novel he wrote in class. Szita, who came for help in improving her literacy at age 45, is now an international adult literacy advocate and was named Reader’s Digest’s Education Hero for 2008. She also published an autobiography, Ellen’s Story.

Ensuring access for all requires continual effort

In working toward achieving our vision of ensuring everyone in society has the literacy skills to contribute to their full potential, READ has always faced the challenge of raising money to fund its programs. As a non-profit, relationships and partnerships with like-minded community organizations, philanthropic businesses and corporations are crucial.

In the ‘70s, as now, programs relied on fundraising, donations, grants and partnerships. Izzard recalls how staff was continually writing grants, holding auctions, and “pitching in,” to ensure the programs could be offered.

Today, READ gratefully continues to embrace community support, whether it be through individual donations, corporate partnerships or volunteer effort. Both READ’s ongoing Education Access program and pilot program Community Outreach would not exist without the community’s support to literacy and learning.

The future of learning

Literacy remains a pressing issue across society, says READ’s executive director Claire Rettie. “The fact that 40 per cent of working British Columbian’s do not have the literacy skills to meet the demands of contemporary society speaks to the ongoing need for literacy support.  Children and adults who are struggling continue to need individual help, and we continue to ensure that happens. READ’s work is just as crucial today as it was in 1976.”

From an old house on one of the city’s oldest streets to a new millennium with classes in three locations across BC’s Capital Region, the READ Society has stayed true to its origins.