What.A.Year.
If you are anything like us, 2020’s trends of having to compromise, sacrifice and learn to deal with the unknown carried over to this year. However, we also had many opportunities to rejoice, and some changes that came our way were positive and bright.
For example, we had to say goodbye to two colleagues on our Board of Directors: Aswanth Ravindran, our past Treasurer; and Alexandra Yarrow, our founding President. These departures are bittersweet. They bring in promises of new beginnings for everyone leaving, as they embark on exciting new personal and professional ventures, as well as for all the new friends who are joining us on our path. We will have a chance to introduce to you Vishal Puri, our new Treasurer, and Audrey Lévesque-Aubut, our incoming President in the new year.
Similarly, our work at Twice Upon a Time continued with great success. Although we still cannot say when our weekly free bookstores will reopen, the COVID-19 service delivery model we developed back in Spring 2020 expanded quickly. We now count 21 partners able to deliver books safely to close to 3,000 children!
We are so grateful to have supporters like you making this work possible.
2021 also saw the tragic moments of too many unmarked graves being exposed on residential school sites. With the movement Every Child Matters grows, we were reminded of our responsibility to listen and to act, after offering a dignified burial to these children and communities the space to grieve. Twice Upon a Time is proud to have develop 2 new partnerships with the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation and the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation. Together with our long-time ally the Minwaashin Healing Lodge, they can offer free books we donate to approximately 370 children.
Inspired by this, today we embark on our 2022 Campaign: ReconciliAction: Best Kids’ Indigenous Books. Our goal is to offer Ottawa kids relevant materials by First Nations People, Métis and Inuit authors and featuring these communities’ stories, history, cultures, characters. We wish to expand our purchasing of books in this area with the help of Indigenous organizations’ representatives.
With your help, we can take charge of our collective commitment towards Reconciliation. We can impact children’s knowledge and understanding of each others’ cultures, contributions to society, and aspirations, early on so that, moving forward, next generations will know the truth and embody reconciliation themselves.
Thank you for your continued support.
Best wishes,
Stéphanie Plante
Vice-President, Twice Upon a Time