RECLAIM Literacy

📚✨ The Magic of Literacy ✨📚

Last Thursday, RECLAIM Literacy proudly helped organize The Magic of Literacy Fair at the James Lyng Adult Education Centre, bringing together learners, educators, volunteers, and community members to celebrate the transformative power of literacy.

A heartfelt thank you to author Ann Lambert for delivering an inspiring keynote address in the auditorium and sharing her passion for storytelling, learning, and community.

We would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to the dedicated RECLAIM volunteers whose enthusiasm, hard work, and commitment helped make this event such a success. Your support created a welcoming and engaging experience for everyone who attended.

Thank you to all who participated and helped celebrate the magic that literacy brings to our lives. Together, we continue to build stronger, more connected communities through learning.

A very special shout out to our volunteer/tutor/artist extraordinaire Shira Ronn for creating this majestic poster for the Literacy fair we are organizing at the James Lyng Adult Education Centre this Thursday!

This past Saturday, we celebrated the Day of Grace, an annual event held in memory of longtime RECLAIM supporter and volunteer Grace Saabas.

The celebration brought our community together for a fun-filled day with learners, volunteers, program participants, and staff. We enjoyed alphabet pancakes, an energetic drum circle, and spirited games of Literacy Jeopardy, all of which honoured what Grace held important: learning, connection, and community.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in honouring Grace’s memory and spirit.

We’re thrilled to announce that our longtime tutor, Gundie Robertson, is the recipient of the Freda Hudson Volunteer Appreciation Award!

For more than 10 years, Gundie has brought warmth, encouragement, and dedication to the RECLAIM Literacy community as a tutor, Board member, and mentor. Her thoughtful approach has helped learners build confidence, strengthen literacy skills, and feel truly welcomed and supported.

As one learner shared, “She encourages learning for us all. We always welcome her, and she always welcomes us.”

Congratulations, Gundie, and thank you for the incredible impact you continue to make at RECLAIM Literacy!

We also extend our sincere thanks to Literacy Quebec for recognizing and celebrating volunteers through this meaningful award.

As this year's volunteer appreciation week comes to a close, RECLAIM extends our sincerest thanks to ALL of our volunteers (both past and present) who have given their time to advance the goals of our learners as well as supporting our special programs and events, for over 45 years.
A special shout out to our current board of directors - Gary, Gundie, Patricia, Lisa & Ibrahim, whose dedication enables us to continue to meet our mission of 'helping to make low literacy something future generations will only READ about!'
Thank you all ...

It’s Volunteer Appreciation Week! We’re so grateful to our tutors for their dedication to helping learners reach their goals. We’ve been marking the week with breakfast at the Learning Centre, a lovely way to start each morning and ease into tutoring together. Many thanks to all our volunteers!

We were proud to be part of the Mental Health Fair at James Lyng Adult Education Center! 💚

At RECLAIM Literacy, we believe that learning and well-being go hand in hand. It was wonderful to connect with so many individuals, share resources, and highlight how literacy support can empower people, build confidence, and open new opportunities.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and helped make the day so meaningful.

🤝In honour of National Volunteer Week (April 19–25), we’re shining a spotlight on Kirtan Varasia, a dedicated volunteer tutor with RECLAIM Literacy. He shares what inspired him to help others, his experiences supporting learners build essential literacy skills, and what he's learned along the way.

We’re also joined by Joy Fyckes, Executive Director of RECLAIM Literacy, who speaks about the organization’s mission and the incredible services they provide to support diverse learners on their literacy journeys.

🎙️Tune in now: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/literacy-quebec/episodes/Episode-93---Inside-Volunteer-Literacy-Tutoring--Member-Spotlight-e3i9o46

The race was run! A great success - thanks to our wonderful running team (Fiona 10k , The Riverview runners: Ravyn, Jaxson, Cedar & Oscar - 1K). This dynamic team raised over 2000$ that will be used to support literacy activities in the community. A huge thank you to all who supported our team by making a donation or who came out to cheer on our runners!
There is still time to donate if you would like to do your part in 'making low literacy something future generations will only READ about;!
CLICK BELOW TO DONATE!
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fraceroster.com%2Fevents%2F2026%2F109965%2F21k-nespresso-de-montreal-2026%2Fpledge%2Fteam%2F869759%3Flocale%3Den_CA%26utm_id%3D97758_v0_s00_e0_tv0%26fbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHlT4xMX0VoBZcR0XD4UCgeLnrxSqv5txiEwulFs3zQufhnGGrhSNwsH9Nwqh_aem_cMg3ItUNe8vGy2ddjtju7w&h=AT4Gla2hu72Gb6M1fnb61ZKTewO5tmMCv4YSbon7sYnZ4sxgDmDP4ayNrdurKXBlBK2MVBTrK2VjLLU5iEFFNQIox7_hUhKK7SkxBTjeqw_pLQhQKqCPdqTVdQBK5Q705QA9YgHf62y8Qg&__tn__=H-R&c[0]=AT6Z8C3E0bOYvGwybOW3r9WiqxUCIgV-3gRDubMUBpqQtb5TEYtieEAiLhrrlM5DB834ph43wkDoyaQvhlUeF6HkEOHyOT7sX04PYI1FdPWuYFJxOejVuezTYSj8w9zlWHOa7vrBUFDe-HCMlzEyQ-M2Bt3dr1H1KggGIJgpeLSMJbA3f4qANJymsRQxw7qxsBuI1Y-BXnsMSl467bo3wjvLBQ

And we are here ...ready to encourage our runners. You can encourage them by making a donation!

https://raceroster.com/events/2026/109965/21k-nespresso-de-montreal-2026/pledge/team/869759?locale=en_CA&fbclid=IwdGRjcARQX1djbGNrBFBfT2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHlKydeMsw_jRjv0pIMxvu51L4dhoCXYQu56GRfgyvheayHiurXA1_mNNAuL8_aem_1riOcOTjd-9OgfUMAe2D7Q&utm_id=97758_v0_s00_e0_tv0

Donate to help RECLAIM raise money for 21K Nespresso de Montreal - 2026 Edition’s fundraising campaign, on April 18, 2026 The team, RECLAIM, is raising money for a great cause by participating in 21K Nespresso de Montreal - 2026 Edition on April 18, 2026. They need your help to reach their team goal. Every donation gets them closer!