Community Corner Newsletter
What a Gratitude Garden Party it Was
As board member Vicki Reid told our small group of guests in early September, “We really do come here with our hearts full of gratitude for all of our friends and special donors here. This is a special place and it takes a lot of special friends to put this together.”

How fortunate were we to have the sun shine just long enough to show these special donors the beautiful metal flower sculptures created and ‘planted’ in the front of Little Red Reading House to recognize their gifts. Unfortunately, a short time later, some of the flowers were stolen. They are still missing and we hope you can help wish them back to our porch.

Watch this wonderful video that captures the people who have helped us bring to life our big-as-the-moon dream that is Little Red Reading House.
carya Unveils Sue Mellon Reading Nook
“Adults and children are embracing reading as a key to success in school and life and families are intentionally creating joyful reading relationships. We are so proud that our beloved Little Red Reading House has inspired our sixth community reading place at carya,” says Steacy Pinney, CEO, Calgary Reads.

Congratulations to our partner carya! It was such a pleasure creating this beautiful community reading place in honour of such a wonderful leader, and alongside our special artist partner Karen Scarlett.

Read all about this new space this project and see more photos at the carya Blog.
Little Free Libraries: Expanding Book Access to All
Little Free Library book-sharing boxes are an approachable and effective way to bring books to readers in urban, suburban, rural, and Indigenous communities. There are more than 100,000 Little Free Libraries worldwide, in 110 countries and all 7 continents. Through them, millions of books are exchanged each year, profoundly increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds.
 
In 2020, the LFL nonprofit launched “Read in Color,” an initiative that distributes diverse books through the Little Free Library network to help build greater understanding, empathy, and inclusion.

Join us for this exciting 3-6-9 Series talk with LFL's Greig Metzger on November 17!
Joyspotting
As we carry on with our theme of joyful literacy, following the release of our Community Report: Ode to Joy, we want to share just a few ways joy has showed at Calgary Reads lately.
A Generous Book Donation from Buy Buy Baby

Buy Buy Baby collected 1,265 brand new book donations from their Alberta stores and donated them to our Book Bank so we could help put more books in the hands of children that need them.
Storytime with Witches at Little Red Reading House

Members got to participate in a special Halloween event at the house.
So Many Family Reading Visits!

Now that we’ve been able to reduce family reading visits to $10 thanks to the Willow Park Charity Golf Classic, we’ve been able to welcome so many children and the house has been filled with reading joy!
The Little Red RV Goes on the Road

We were so thrilled to take our new van on the road to our reading place affiliate partners so we could help them see some fun and exciting opportunities to inspire a love of reading with children furthest from opportunity.
Volunteer Spotlight: Dilshad Virani
Dilshad Virani is a wee read volunteer extraordinaire. After helping a Grade 3 student strengthen her reading skills, Dilshad was hooked and went on to take wee read to children in Belize and Zanzibar. Our summer intern Abigail Tomney had the chance to meet Dilshad at Little Red Reading House and hear her inspiring story.
Little Red Reading House Gift Guide En Route
Are you looking for gifts that share the magic of reading with children in your life this year? Stay tuned! On Friday, our Little Red Reading House gift guide shares ideas for all ages, from curated book collections to special experiences you won’t find anywhere else.

Calgary Reads |105, 105 12th Avenue SE |Calgary, AB T2G 1A1 | calgaryreads.com