{"id":9192,"date":"2016-01-11T14:43:18","date_gmt":"2016-01-11T19:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.canadahelps.org\/?p=9192"},"modified":"2024-11-01T10:17:13","modified_gmt":"2024-11-01T14:17:13","slug":"making-the-mad-dash-against-illiteracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.canadahelps.org\/en\/giving-life\/fundraising\/making-the-mad-dash-against-illiteracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Making the mad dash against illiteracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

This blog post was provided by fundraiser Pat Flewwelling.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Giving<\/a><\/p>\n

I never used to consider illiteracy a problem in Canada.\u00a0 <\/strong>We live in a country where education is publically funded, while simultaneously living in a time where a flurry of knowledge is at our fingertips.\u00a0 But to my surprise, I soon came to realize how big of an illiteracy issue there is when I serendipitously came across the Muskoka Novel Marathon back in 2009 while surfing the web.\u00a0 At the time, I was simply looking to participate in a writing event where I could meet people who shared similar interests, but when I learned more about illiteracy and how I could raise funds simply by doing something I love to do, I chose to sign up and do my part.<\/p>\n

At my first Muskoka Novel Marathon, I had only thought I was going to enjoy a mini-vacation, write a new book and support a worthy cause. \u00a0\u00a0It was good enough for me and I was happy to participate.\u00a0 I even ended up raising about a hundred bucks for the cause and drove ten hours from Montreal, Quebec to Huntsville, Ontario to write my little heart out over 72 hours.\u00a0 But by Sunday night, I finished the marathon with a brand new story complete with a beginning, an end, and three hundred pages in between, and met so many kindred spirits, some of whom are among my closest friends seven marathons later.<\/p>\n

But that weekend sparked a drive in me to do something more.\u00a0 It was that weekend when a representative from the Muskoka Literacy Program told us with tears brimming in her eyes how much she appreciated our efforts.\u00a0 Stopping often to catch her breath, she explained how critical a contribution we have made in the lives of others, and because of us, tutors now had the materials they needed to keep teaching.\u00a0 They would now have pencils, workbooks, PCs, software, desks, chairs and utilities.\u00a0 She also told us some staggering statistics:<\/p>\n