VSEAL's Outlook

Vallum Society for Education in Arts & Letters (VSEAL) was incorporated as a federal charity in 2003 (# 892515008 RR0001) with a mandate to promote broad educational and cultural initiatives by fostering literacy programs such as Poetry for Our Future! workshops, the publication of Vallum Magazine, VSEAL chapbooks, Spoken Word, poetry readings, and co-operation between other like-minded organizations.

VSEAL has gained national recognition for its commitment to poetry and art. Vallum Magazine has been a finalist three times for the National Magazine Awards for its poetry, and has published Canadian poets like P.K. Page, Jan Zwicky, Lorna Crozier, Patrick Lane, Stephanie Bolster, and others. Vallum Magazine is also housed in notable university libraries, including the University of Toronto, Harvard, Stanford, McGill, Queen’s, Concordia, and others.

Our outreach program serves children, youth and adults from low-income families, low-education families, single-parent families, youth and adults on the autism spectrum, BIPOC, LGBTQIA2+ and gender non-conforming youth and young adults. We also provide workshops for adults from underserved communities, such as folks experiencing homelessness, Indigenous peoples, adults interested in improving their English literacy, and women at women's shelters. The goal of these workshops extends beyond enhancing literacy skills and engaging with contemporary literature, but also provides space for personal expression and growth, developing confidence, and a shared sense of community.

VSEAL is proud to have forged long-standing partnerships with a diverse range of host organizations, including schools, women's and Native women's shelters, community centres, extracurricular educational facilities, and more. Our partnerships allow our VSEAL Poetry for our Future! program direct access to specific underserved communities in need within Quebec, and elsewhere in Canada; and to foster a love of art, poetry, spoken word performance, and literary engagement. All our partnerships contribute to our work of connecting facilitators, poets, performers and educators with populations who would benefit from our program and support Canadian arts culture and community.

 Thank you for supporting our charity!