Literacy Now Cowichan has received $30,700 from the province to support its Pathways to Learning program for the 2021-22 year.
Pathways to Learning, a community adult literacy program, has been operating locally since 2012 and has helped almost 1,000 residents of the Cowichan Valley achieve their learning goals.
The New Democrat government is investing a total of $2.9 million in the program across the province, which includes a one-time investment for 2021-22.
This support will fund 97 programs, delivered by 66 organizations in 128 communities throughout the province.
Doug Routley, MLA for Nanaimo-North Cowichan, said a funding boost to the adult literacy program will help people gain skills in reading, writing, math and digital literacy.
“Improving quality of life starts with reducing obstacles to everyday tasks, and literacy skills reduce challenges when finding a job, accessing higher education, budgeting and more,” said Routley.
“The free services provided by Literacy Now Cowichan benefit our entire region and through this funding, we can keep making life better for everyday people.”
Community-based Indigenous, adult and family literacy programs are provided free-of-charge and delivered by community organizations, Indigenous-led organizations, and public-post secondary institutions.
Literacy programming typically includes one-on-one tutoring and small-group instruction which supports all levels of literacy.
In 2020, many programs shifted to online service delivery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.