Achi news desk-
This week brings a great opportunity to help Calgary kids who are facing some tough obstacles.
Final preparations are underway for the Calgary Reads Big Book Auction.
Here are the 20ed anniversary of the event, which raises money to support literacy programs for local children.
“Twenty years ago, our first sale raised $5,000 and last year we raised $500,000,” said sale organizer Steacy Pinney. “It felt like a miracle.”
Funds raised from this year’s book auction will go to seven Calgary agencies that support literacy programs.
The families in those programs often experience things like domestic violence, poverty and homelessness.
YW Calgary is among the agencies receiving funds from the sale.
“The book sales are amazing,” said Janelle Wydeven of the YW. “It really helps us expand our reach to support more families in Calgary.”
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The event relies on 1,200 volunteers to operate the auction.
The volunteers are busy in the days leading up to the event, sorting through the approximately 125,000 donated books.
Laurette Langereis is one of the veteran volunteers.
“I started volunteering when my daughters were in elementary school,” Langereis said.
It wasn’t long before Langereis recruited her father Robbert Hoffmann to help with the auction.
“I like to read books,” said Hoffman, 89. “You never know what you’re going to find in the boxes (of donated books).”
Her daughter Brittany Langereis has also joined Langereis in recent years.
“I love seeing all the books,” said Llydaw Langereis.
The Calgary Reads Big Book Sale runs from Friday, May 10 to Monday, May 20 at the Calgary Curling Club.
“People are really coming out to support the book sale because kids are still struggling after the pandemic with a lot of learning loss,” Pinney said.
The three generations of volunteers from the Langereis-Hoffmann family get a lot of satisfaction from being part of the effort to support childhood literacy.
“I read to my children from a very young age,” said Laurette Langereis.
Her daughter Brittany agrees that early exposure to books is important, adding: “I think everyone should have the same opportunity.”
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
