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THURSDAY March 14, 2013 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
serving our community 1930 to 2013
▼ ROOMTO READ
Fostering literacy in developing countries PAT NELSON, here with a Nepalese children’s book,
Jennifer Smith STAFF REPORTER
the
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THERE IS A DEFINITE CORRELATION BETWEEN EDUCATION AND HEALTH… Pat Nelson
with Room to Read, as
opposed to other organizations that work in this area, is that over 80 per cent of the funds raised go directly to programs.” On the ground, this means that any local chapter has to come up with fundraising initiatives that are cost-effective to produce and not very elaborate. From beer nights to a Nights of Arabia fundraiser she organized
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in the Edmonton public library and a thematic wine, cheese and speaker’s presentation—Nelson said she has come up with some crafty ideas in her four years raising funds. And perhaps one of her more crafty is a partnership she’s struck with Crystal Flaman, of the Frank Flaman Foundation. Crystal is an endurance athlete and social entrepreneur who has run 100-kilometre runs for charity and organized epic trips, like her tandem ride across the country with her twin to raise money for the Heart And Stroke Foundation. Her mission is “to assist individuals and organizations to strive to not only be the best in the world, but also the best for the world,” and Nelson is hoping her participation will jump-start the Okanagan effort. The Flaman Foundation, named in honour of her father, entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Flaman, has helped support development projects and charitable efforts in countries around the world, including Room to Read.
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Joining a chapter basically amounts to becoming a part of the fundraising engine. Room to Read sponsors girls to go to school who might otherwise be sold into indentured labour as a child bride. It builds libraries, with an agreement from the government of the country receiving the donation that it will provide the librarians to run it. And it finds local authors to pen stories in different languages and cultural contexts than one might conjure in North America. Room to Read has won the UNESCO Eucation, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s International Literacy Prize and received a rating of 67.18 out of 70 on Charity Navigator, one of the best ratings awarded by the American non-profit evaluator. The first meeting will occur on Saturday, March 23, at 10 a.m., on the second floor of InVue, 2040 Springfield Rd. Anyone interested in getting involved is asked to contact Nelson at the.pj.nelson@gmail.com jsmith@kelownacapnews.com
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Chance to gab with the premier Alistair Waters ASSISTANT EDITOR
What would you say if you had 30 seconds of face time with B.C.’s premier? That’s the question for 30 local business people who will have the opportunity to “speed” network with Christy Clark next Wednesday in Kelowna. Local business people planning to gather for the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce’s monthy Business After Hours event will not just have each other to rub shoulders with. They will also have the premier. The chamber, B.C.’s second largest chamber of commerce, has announced Christy Clark will attend the business networking event at the Laurel Packinghouse March 20.
See Chance A13
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her how the number one recommendation the panelists made to help change the face of the continent’s struggles was “education.” It’s a refrain she’s noticed again and again since starting with Room to Read. “There is a definite correlation between education and health, and indicators like lower infant death rates,” she said. “…And the difference
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There are people who have book smarts and then there are people who excel on the ground, in the trenches so to speak, and the latest Room to Read initiative lands somewhere in between. Conceived of by a Microsoft executive while he was traveling, Room to Read creates libraries, sponsors students and funds culturally sensitive and language-appropriate books for children in developing nations. “We strongly believe that every child, no matter where they were born or what circumstances they were born into, deserves to receive an education and reach their full potential,” said John Wood and Tim Koogle, board co-chairs, in a letter that opens the organization’s annual report. It was a book by Wood on founding the organization, entitled Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, that inspired Pat Nelson to found a chapter in Edmonton. Now she is hoping to do the same in Kelowna. “I’m a librarian. I had a daughter who was getting an education and the whole idea of how poor the kids in the developing world were, and the fact that they had no access to literacy, really got me,” said Nelson. Listening to a CBC panel on Africa recently, she said it really struck
is a Room to Read volunteer who founded a chapter of the organization in Edmonton and is looking to start one in Kelowna.
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