Thirteen years ago, a dozen determined students sat along two tables before an audience in Tillicum Community School’s gymnasium. The children looked like city officials, each with a microphone placed in front of them. The cameras began rolling, and a competition kicked off.
The game show was called Read for the Top! and the contestants, in two teams, were armed with brains full of book knowledge and questions for the opposing team about a reading list they’d finished. The aim was to teach these students of all racial and economic backgrounds to read and to fall in love with stories.
The school had received a grant from the Victoria Foundation to help fund a video production of the game show. The teachers wanted to share the program’s success so that other schools could emulate it in their classrooms.
It was inspiring — they were helping fellow educators create environments where more students could feel empowered and excited by literacy. They were planting seeds of success for our children and future generations.
This connects to a theme we explore in our annual Victoria’s Vital Signs citizen survey this year. We ask: Can you imagine a Victoria for your grandkids and future generations? Can they be prosperous?
We want to hear your opinions on how Greater Victoria can be a home our future generations can thrive in. What do you think of our health-care services, housing, access to nutritious food and education, among other areas?
Your opinions are vital, and I encourage you to take the survey on the Foundation’s website – victoriafoundation.bc.ca – by May 31, for a chance to win $100 to Country Grocer.
Every year, thousands of responses are compiled into the Vital Signs report, released in autumn, which measures the vitality of the capital region. The report can be used to bolster conversations on how we can plant and water the seeds of a growing, vibrant and caring community.
This is much like the Growing Young Farmers’ Society, a wonderful organization that teaches children how to plant, nurture and grow local food right in their own school gardens. It’s recently partnered with the Sandown Agricultural Centre to bring more outdoor learning opportunities to our young leaders of tomorrow.
The Red Cedar Cafe is another mighty non-profit that’s helping nourish growth in our community by delivering affordable, ready-made meals to those who need a boost, including families and young children.
Considering our robust network of organizations dedicated to community growth, it isn’t so difficult for me to envision a Victoria where our grandkids and their grandkids can prosper.
I invite you to consider ways you can support a cause working to ensure our next generations can live the best future possible. It could be as simple as taking our Vital Signs survey to shed light on our region’s vitality.
If we find ways to engage our young people, to harness their creativity, their intelligence, and empower them to be excited about overcoming challenges, we can help Greater Victoria thrive for decades to come.
This is especially true if we choose to share our strategies and successes with our peers — just like the teachers at Tillicum Community School did.
The students who competed in Read for the Top! that year are likely into their early twenties today. I hope some of them have taken a love of reading and learning into adulthood.
Perhaps it’s inspired them to become leaders or educators in their communities, to pay it forward to our future generations.
Sandra Richardson is CEO of the Victoria Foundation.
