Strong Start® was proud to be part of the 13th annual Family Literacy Day on Sunday January 30, 2011 held at Conestoga Mall. This was a community event that focused on intergenerational literacy and featured booths with interactive literacy-based activities and games. Many of our community partners who support literacy in our community were represented including: the local libraries, the YMCA’s of Kitchener Waterloo and Cambridge, Ontario Early Years Centres, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Project Read. The children and families who attended were treated to live performances by Erick Traplin and story readings by local celebrities and politicians. All the children were given a passport to be stamped at each booth.

Once the passport was complete they received a free book, compliments of The Record. Families were also given a fabric book bag and take- home activities. Strong Start® welcomed over 100 children to our booth. They had a great time playing the fishing (for words) game and bean bag toss game. Two of the most popular games were a fruits and vegetables sorting game and an animal to habitat matching game, both from our Get Ready for School Program. We were happy to have Strong Start® volunteers visiting our booth to say hello and to tell us how much they enjoy the program. We also had a few teachers drop by to tell us what a difference our Letters Sounds and Words program makes to their young learners. Family Literacy Day was a wonderful opportunity to highlight our programs and to connect with the children, families and Strong Start® stakeholders in our community. Thank you to the organizing team and Conestoga Mall for hosting such a positive, fun, family-friendly event!