Coffee with Character

Virgin Hill Coffee Roasters  is a family-owned business in the Town of Brome Lake.  Not only do they make great coffee…they care about the community!

Says Tara Moar, owner of Virgin Hill Coffee Roasters:

This blend was created specially for Louise Penny, as we at Virgin Hill Coffee are HUGE fans.  We served it this summer at the pre-launch for Glass Houses in Knowlton Quebec. We are so excited to be able to offer it to all Penny fans!

The extra special thing about the Gamache blend is that for every bag sold, Virgin Hill donates 1$ to the Yamaska Literacy Council. PLUS!….Award-winning author and amazing person Louise Penny matched these donations to support YLC programs.

THANK YOU FROM ALL OF US AT YLC!

Left to right: Wendy Seys (YLC), Louise Penny (Author), Tara Moar (Virgin Hill), Lucy Hoblyn (Brome Lake Books)

Family Literacy Day – January 27, 2018

Read a story, play a game, bake a cake, sing a song…There are many fun ways that families can build literacy skills together!

Maggie and Bodhi sharing a favourite book

Children begin developing language skills from the moment they are born and the main source for those early learning experiences is their parents. Research has found that hearing a variety of words consistently helps prepare young children for reading later in life and builds their vocabulary. What’s more, children’s levels of literacy often reflect those of their parents. This means that keeping your own literacy skills sharp by continued ongoing learning in adulthood is an important part of getting your child off to the right start so they too can be lifelong learners.

Family Literacy Day is a national awareness initiative held annually on January 27 to raise awareness about the importance of engaging in reading and other literacy-related activities as a family. There are FREE bilingual learning activities that families can do together…great activities for the winter days ahead! Recipes, scavenger hunts, puzzles, games and more. Visit: www.familyliteracyday.ca

In communities across Brome-Missisquoi, there many events and activities to celebrate Family Literacy Day;

• Mansonville: January 26^th at Mansonville Elementary, book exchange and activities.
• Knowlton: Saturday, January 27^th, 10-12@Pettes Library. Click for details FLD at Pettes Library
• Waterloo: Friday Feb 2^nd; Activities at Waterloo Elementary, including: visit from an author, bookmaking, media literacy workshop for students.
• Bedford (Jan 22-26); Events at Butler Elementary include: storytelling; dress up as your favourite book character; t-shirt making; “alpha” snack. Also a workshop for parents is announced “Keeping your child safe on the Internet”. Contact Lynn for registration at 450-248-7977.

For more information about Family Literacy Day, and/or to learn about literacy services in Brome-Missisquoi, contact the Yamaska Literacy Council at 866-337-7503 or 450-263-7503 or info@yamaskaliteracy.ca

 

Roadways Fall 2017

YLC members and friends, here is the latest issue of Roadways. Enjoy!

 

Award-winning Canadian musicians perform for literacy!

Award-winning Canadian musicians and entertainers, Russell deCarle (of Prairie Oyster) & Steve Briggs, will perform a benefit concert to support literacy in our community.  Russell deCarle is a founding member, lead vocalist, bassist, and contributing songwriter to the multi-platinum, Juno award winning, country roots group Prairie Oyster.  As a solo artist Russell has opened for Merle Haggard on his cross-Canada tour, traveled coast-to-coast with Bluebird North Songwriters’ Tour, and was a featured guest on Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Café Christmas Tour, 2008. Steve Briggs has performed, arranged and recorded with a wealth of artists including Sylvia Tyson, Russell deCarle, Murray McLauchlan and Carroll Baker among many others. Check out Russell deCarle and Steve Briggs in action.

In 1986, award-winning Canadian broadcaster and journalist Peter Gzowski began raising funds for literacy through an annual golf tournament, the Peter Gzowski Invitational (PGI) – a single event that evolved into the national PGIs for Literacy. His goal was to raise much-needed resources for the thousands of adult learners in literacy programs, while having fun in the process.   Read more about PGIs for literacy! 

Reserve your tickets by calling YLC @ 450-263-7503

#PGIQuebec

 

 

Health & Wellness Fair

A network of regional health and social service organizations have partnered to present a Health & Wellness Fair on Saturday, June 10^th at Centre Lac-Brome from 10-3pm that will connect the English-speaking communities of Brome-Missisquoi, Haute-Yamaska and surrounding areas with health-related information and local resources.

Under the theme Healthy People, Healthy Communities, the Health & Wellness Fair, which is free and open to the public, will feature  presentations by health professionals, and kiosks on available services in the region. Visitors will also have a chance to explore a variety of health and wellness issues and meet with participating groups.

In the morning, Dr. Robert Pincott, retired physician, RLS La Pommeraie, will talk about “What’s new at the BMP, and things you might not know”.  In the afternoon Dr. Camillo Zacchia, Senior Advisor at the Montreal Douglas Hospital will present “From Mental Illness to Mental Health: Finding Nirvana  in a cup of coffee and other secrets to happiness”.

For visitor bringing young children who wish to attend these sessions with undivided attention, a free childcare service supervised by a trained childcare worker will be available. A light lunch can also be purchased onsite.

This event is the first of its kind to be organized by the Steering Committee of the Eastern Townships Partners for Health and Social Services, Montérégie-East network, which brings together a number of organizations across the region, including Townshippers’ Association, Avante Women’s Centre, Yamaska Literacy Council, CIUSSS de l’Estrie Adaptation Program, CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS, the BMP Users’ Committee, and The Mental Health and Well-being Support Group.

See you there!

Laura Teasdale’s Home Child – June 17

Bring a chair or a blanket. Everyone is welcome!

Resources in English for Families in Brome-Missisquoi

Partners for Family Services in English have launched a new brochure: Resources in English for families in Brome-Missisquoi.

There are many organizations in Brome-Missisquoi that offer services in English; some reach out directly to the English-speaking community.  However, it has been recognized that these services are not always widely known. This is a concern for the community, and also for the service providers in the region. “There’s a lot of useful services in my community, a lot of which I did not know existed!” says Mandy, a mother of two young children.

The Partners for Family Services in English is a local committee working together to coordinate efforts, resources, and initiatives to better meet the needs of English-speaking families in Brome-Missisquoi. Members of the committee represent a variety of health and social service providers that reach English-speaking  families.  The Yamaska Literacy Council is one of the partners.

Visit YLC’s office (505 rue du Sud, suite 203, Cowansville; 450 263-7503/866 337-7503) and pick up a copy.

Celebrating Literacy Volunteers

Thank you to Yamaska Literacy Council volunteers 

In celebration of Volunteer Week, YLC hosted an evening to recognize and thank dedicated volunteers who give their time and expertise to build stronger communities through literacy. (We would have posted a picture from the event, be we were all having too much fun eating and talking with each other to remember our cameras…)

Last year, YLC volunteers contributed 3,701 hours of volunteer time to tutoring, serving on committees, promoting YLC at fairs and festivals (including the Brome Fair beer tent) and being awesome!

We invite you to enjoy a special issue of our newsletter. Learn about our rich history of “friends teaching friends”; meet some YLC volunteers; discover volunteer opportunities with YLC – click on the link below…

ROADWAYS Special Volunteer Issue

(Contact us if you would like a printed copy)

iPad Workshop Series

Join YLC and Nancy Pagé for a series of four workshops using your iPad.  Topics include internet security, iPad basics, calendars, email, cameras, music, Facebook, and messages.

Wednesdays, March 8 & 22, April 5 & 19, 1 – 3 p.m.

For more information or to register contact the Yamaska Literacy Council office.

(450) 263-7503 or yamaskalit@endirect.qc.ca

Roadways Winter 2017

YLC members and friends, here is the latest issue of Roadways. Enjoy!