Natrel Awarded National Literacy Honour
Ontario, September 4, 2014
ABC Life Literacy Canada is pleased to announce that Natrel, a division of Agropur Cooperative, Canada’s largest dairy co-op, has been named the 2014 recipient of the Honourable Joyce Fairbairn, P.C. Literacy Public Awareness Award. This national honour recognizes a Canadian corporation’s outstanding impact on improving adult literacy in Canada.
“On behalf of the ABC Board and staff we congratulate Natrel on receiving this tremendous honour and thank them for their valued contributions to engaging Canadians in literacy learning. Natrel’s commitment to Family Literacy Fun has opened learning opportunities for tens of thousands of families across Canada,” said Gillian Mason, President, ABC Life Literacy Canada.
Starting in 2012 Natrel partnered with ABC to fulfill the ambitious goal of helping Canadian families learn and grow together through literacy activities. Family Literacy Fun, a program that provides activities, including songs, rhymes, and interactive play, was created to encourage families to learn together in a warm, fun-filled environment.
Over 20,000 copies of the Family Literacy Fun activity book have been distributed to families through literacy and learning centres across Ontario and Quebec, in addition to over 18,000 resources downloaded from the website, and next year the program will be extended to British Columbia. Family Literacy Fun is promoted widely for Family Literacy Day© celebrations that culminate each January. Year-round the activities are available to download for free from ABC’s website. Better literacy leads to greater confidence and opens opportunities for parents and children alike to live fully engaged lives.
“Natrel is very pleased to be the recipient of this award,” said Stéphane Renauld, National Marketing Director, Natrel and Regional Brands. “At Natrel, we believe that early literacy is critical to children’s development and, indeed, to their later successes in life. Parents are the first teachers that children encounter, so creating fun learning activities that parents and children can do together is a natural way to make a great impact on literacy learning. We are thrilled that Family Literacy Fun has been able to bring literacy to thousands of families across Canada.”
The Honourable Joyce Fairbairn, P.C. Literacy Public Awareness Award, known as the “The Joycee”, was established in 1996 to honour outstanding private sector supporters of literacy awareness. ABC Life Literacy Canada named this award in honour of former Senator Joyce Fairbairn, a legendary national and community champion of the adult literacy cause. Previous recipients of this prestigious literacy award include HSBC Bank of Canada, TD Bank Group, Honda Canada, HarperCollins Canada, Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life and CBC Radio-Canada.
The official award presentation of the 2014 Honourable Joyce Fairbairn, P.C. Literacy Public Awareness Award will take place as part of ABC’s Life Literacy Night 2014 in Toronto on September 18. The Peter Gzowski Life Literacy Fellowship honouring journalism excellence on a literacy issue, the Dr. Alan Middleton Workplace Literacy and Learning Award which recognizes an individual for their outstanding achievement in workplace literacy and essential skills and the Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life Literacy Innovation Award honouring community literacy innovation will also form part of this year’s awards ceremony. To learn more about ABC’s national literacy awards please visit https://abclifeliteracy.ca/.
Family Literacy Fun was developed by ABC Life Literacy Canada in consultation with other literacy organizations including Community Literacy Ontario, La Fondation pour l’alphabétisation, and Centre for Family Literacy. The collection is available in English at www.FamilyLiteracyFun.ca and at www.LireEtJouerEnFamille.ca in French.
About Agropur
Founded in 1938, Agropur is an important player in the North American dairy industry. With sales of $3.8 billion at the end of the 2013 fiscal year, the Cooperative is a source of pride for its 3,449 dairy producer owners and 7,500 employees. Agropur now processes more than 5.1 billion litres (11.2 billion pounds) of milk per year in its 36 plants across North America, and boasts an impressive line of products that includes such prestigious brands as Natrel, Québon, OKA, Farmers, Central Dairies, Sealtest, biPro, Island Farms, Agropur Grand Cheddar and finally Olympic and iögo, from Ultima Food, a Agropur Cooperative joint venture. Visit Agropur's website.
About ABC Life Literacy Canada
ABC Life Literacy Canada is a non-profit organization that inspires Canadians to increase their literacy and essential skills. We mobilize business, government and communities to support lifelong learning and achieve our goals through leadership in programs, communications and partnerships. ABC Life Literacy Canada envisions a Canada where everyone has the skills they need to live a fully engaged life. For the latest news and information on adult literacy please visit www.abclifeliteracy.ca or stay connected with us through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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For more information, please contact:
Stephanie Wells,
Communications Manager
ABC Life Literacy Canada
Telephone: 1-800-303-1004 ext. 122