Staff from the Castlegar News and the Community Basin Alliance for Literacy (CBAL), as well as members of the Castlegar Rebels and city council, were out in force Thursday at businesses around Castlegar handing out copies of the paper and other goodies.
"We want to share the importance of literacy and how healthy it makes a community," said Alana Murdoch, Community Literacy Coordinator in Castlegar for Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy. "We want to spread the word about literacy programs in the area."
Murdoch and Castlegar mayor Lawrence Chernoff were pounding the pavement delivering papers to businesses in the downtown core.
"It's important to the community," said Chernoff. "Even coming to the library with all the kids taking books out and stuff like that. Without literacy, you have nothing. It's so important in today's world. The way kids read today it's incredible. There's numerous programs offered through CBAL. But not everybody knows about the program so it's great to get the word out."
In Castlegar, $1,064 was made up from $795.20 last year.