Too many children are not developing the literacy skills that they need to reach th
eir full potential. Being surrounded by books at a young age fosters a love of reading and improves school readiness, and academic performance. In fact, studies have shown that having as few as 20 books in a home can have a significant impact in propelling a child to a higher level of education. But owning books can be expensive, and not all children have access to public libraries on a regular basis. Our mission at Twice Upon A Time is to give books to children at no cost, creating pride in book ownership, and nurturing lifelong literacy skills.
Twice Upon a Time is 100% volunteer-run and your support has an immediate impact in our communities. We negotiate with book publishers, wholesalers and bookstores to purchase books at discounts to make every financial donation go further. Through our partnerships with community organizations, we are able to reach increasing numbers of children and families in Ottawa. Thanks to our generous supporters, last year Twice Upon a Time distributed over 6,000 free books to Ottawa children.
How you can help
A donation of $50 will buy four new books that will find their way to children in Vanier, Overbrook and other Ottawa neighbourhoods. Our goal for this campaign is to raise enough funds to buy 450 new children’s books.
Your gift will help Ottawa kids to grow up with a love of reading. Please donate today to become a champion for early literacy!
We are delighted to announce that Twice Upon a Time has received funding from the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund to assist with its long-term recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Community Services Recovery Fund is a $400 million investment from the Government of Canada to support community service organizations, including charities, non-profits, and Indigenous governing bodies, as they adapt and modernize their organizations. Nearly 5,500 organizations from across Canada have received funding through this initiative.
Twice Upon a Time will use the funding to evaluate our current service model and to develop new and more efficient ways to provide free books to Ottawa children. From now until spring 2024, we will work to build stronger partnerships with the community organizations who distribute our books to their clients and with the businesses who help us acquire books and accept donations of books on our behalf. We will also update our communications strategies, develop new volunteer training programs, and increase our fundraising capacity.
As part of this process, we will be surveying partners, donors, volunteers, and families who receive our books to inform the development of our new service model. Interested in sharing your thoughts and experiences? If you haven’t received a survey link by email, you can participate in our survey by clicking here.
Twice Upon a Time will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2024. The work carried out in the coming months will ensure our long-term growth and allow us to continue to serve the Ottawa community in the decade to come.
Looking to make a difference in your community? We can use your talents! Twice Upon a Time is seeking several volunteers to help with a wide range of activities:
We also have two vacant positions on our Board of Directors:
If you are passionate about literacy and enjoy working with others, these roles may interest you. More information can be found on the Volunteer Ottawa page, and questions can be directed to info@twiceuponatime.ca.
[:en]We have received funding to review our service delivery model and to identify new ways of making an impact in our community. If you have experience consulting with stakeholders and working with not-for-profit organizations, this position may be for you. Please see the posting below for more information about the role and how to apply.
Contract Available - Project Coordinator
Project Overview: Twice Upon a Time/Il était deux fois is undertaking a project to create a new service delivery plan. This includes: a review of the program delivery capacity and results pre and during the pandemic; recommending metrics to determine which programs and service channels require maintenance, strengthening or termination; recommending how many volunteers could be required and cost of service options being recommended for future service; consulting with current and potentially new service delivery partners under direction of assigned board member; recommending improved processes for volunteer recruitment, training and retention; and recommending improved processes for service delivery partner liaison and communications. The project must be concluded no later than May 31, 2024.
Position Description: the contractor will report to a Service Delivery Plan Committee Lead which reports to the Board of Directors. Working under the direction of the Service Delivery Plan Committee Lead, the successful candidate, working from a home office, will undertake the following:
Duties and Responsibilities:
Qualifications: The successful candidate must:
Reports to: Lead of the Service Delivery Plan Committee; this committee reports directly to the Board of Directors of Twice Upon a Time.
Contract Fee: Payments will be determined by an agreed upon series of deliverables. This contract is valued at approximately $10,000. This project will end no later than May 31, 2024.
Application submission: Please submit a cover letter, CV and three references to vicepresident@twiceuponatime.ca, no later than August 15, 2023.
Reading and being surrounded by books, especially at an early age, has a positive impact on the level of education children will attain and their chances of success. But books are expensive, and not all children are able to visit public libraries on a regular basis. With the end of another school year fast approaching, kids across the city will soon be free from assignments and the guidance of teachers - but it’s important that they keep learning and exploring the world of books over the summer.
Do you remember your favourite book from when you were a child, the one that inspired your love of reading? Wouldn’t it be wonderful for all children to have an opportunity this summer to dig into a new favourite book and explore new characters or places - to discover and enhance their joy of reading? You can help provide such opportunities for Ottawa children with a donation to Twice Upon a Time! Our mission is to give books to children. We operate free bookstores for local children, making books more accessible, creating pride in book ownership, and nurturing lifelong literacy skills.
By giving now you will be supporting our “Joy of Reading” campaign, running until June 30th. We are targeting $3,500 in donations during this period and we need your help. Please take a moment today to renew your donation and consider becoming a monthly donor (click here to Donate Now). As part of the CanadaHelps Great Canadian Giving Challenge, every $1 donated via Twice Upon a Time during the month of June enters us into a draw for a chance to win a $20,000.
Twice Upon a Time is 100% volunteer-run, and we depend on the support of our community. Whether you are able to donate at this time or not, please know that your support means everything to us. It’s because of you that we can continue to inspire young readers and improve literacy for young Ottawans.
La Journée internationale de la francophonie, or International Francophonie Day, is celebrated each year on March 20. March is also known as la mois de la francophonie - the month of the francophonie. During this time, francophones across the world celebrate their shared language and cultural diversity.
As a bilingual organization in a bilingual city, Twice Upon a Time is committed to celebrating French language and francophone culture by offering books in French to local children. In 2017, 28% of books chosen by children at our free bookstores were in French, and that number has increased rapidly in recent years.
This mois de la francophonie, consider supporting local children by making a donation to our Joie de Livre! campaign. Making a donation is easy, and your gift will allow us to purchase books in French so that we can meet the growing demand for French language materials at all of our locations.
Twice Upon a Time is seeking a Treasurer and a Secretary for our Board. Do you have a passion for reading and want to help foster literacy skills in young children? Do you have experience with financial control and budgeting, or experience organizing meetings and taking minutes? If so, we’d love for you to join us!
For more information on the positions and to submit an application, please visit the Twice Upon a Time postings on Volunteer Ottawa. The deadline for applications is February 3, 2023.
We look forward to hearing from you!
As 2022 comes to an end, we want to take this opportunity to say “thank you” to all of our community partners, donors, and volunteers!
As you know, Twice Upon a Time supports children’s literacy through book ownership. Since we began in 2014, we have given away almost 40,000 books to Ottawa children working with a growing number of donors, volunteers, and community organizations.
This year was not without challenges, but with the help of our supporters, we have begun to return to our regular programming. While Twice Upon a Time found new ways to deliver books during the Covid-19 pandemic, we are so pleased to have recently reopened our twice weekly bookstore at Overbrook Community Centre and to provide books to children enrolled in BGC Ottawa programming at Don McGahan Clubhouse. And more locations will be opening soon!
We have so many plans for 2023, and we look forward to working with our community to make them a reality. Wishing everyone a very happy new year!
This Giving Season, you can make a real difference to Ottawa children by supporting Twice Upon a Time. Since 2014, we have given away almost 40,000 carefully selected books to local children. We are currently working on a number of exciting plans for 2023 that will allow us to continue fulfilling our mission of supporting literacy and fostering a love of reading at home.
As a registered not-for-profit, Twice Upon a Time relies on volunteers and community partners, as well as generous individual donors. By making a financial donation to Twice Upon a Time, you can help put more books into the hands and homes of children in Ottawa. Every donation counts, allowing us to buy much-needed books and cover program costs:
Giving Tuesday is the world’s largest generosity campaign. This year, Giving Tuesday falls on November 29, 2022, when hundreds of thousands of Canadians are expected to give back to their communities. By joining our Giving Tuesday campaign, you can help Twice Upon a Time give the gift of literacy to some of Ottawa’s most vulnerable children.
Autumn has been extra special this year for us because it marks the beginning of our return to regular programming. While Twice Upon a Time found new ways to deliver books to many (but not all) partner organizations during the Covid-19 pandemic, we have so missed our direct contact with the community, especially with the children. Our twice weekly bookstore has reopened at Overbrook Community Centre, and we continue to provide books to children enrolled in BGC Ottawa programming at Don McGahan Clubhouse. And more locations will be opening soon!
Twice Upon a Time supports children’s literacy through book ownership. Since we began in 2014 we have given away almost 40,000 books thanks to our supporters and a growing number of community partners that collaborate with us to bring the books to local Ottawa area children.
This season, you can help Twice Upon a Time by supporting our “Give the Gift of Reading” campaign. Help us resume our regular programming at locations across the city, where volunteers give out new and gently-used books to children and families. Help us to purchase more books that will support learning and health outcomes for more children. Support our ReconciliAction, Joie de Vivre!, and Kids Today! campaigns, and help our children foster a more just and welcoming society for all peoples and cultures.
We are so excited to be returning to our regular programming. 2023 promises to be an excited year full of old friends and new opportunities, and with your support, we can continue to share the gift of reading with children across Ottawa.
Give the gift of reading. Make your donation today!