Ask yourself how these statements apply to your program.

The following statements describe ideal yet optional activities depending on the community. Volunteers and agency staff other than family literacy program staff could also be involved in this work.

Our agency promotes our family literacy program and recruits participants by…

1. always describing our program positively as a safe place where families can have fun learning together.
2. planning carefully, to use staff and volunteer time and skills effectively and to make sure there are resources in the budget to be able to produce relevant promotional materials.
3. preparing agency staff to speak knowledgeably about this program to other people they know or meet, and to potential participants when they call.
4. preparing informative printed materials for other agencies and professionals, describing the program and how it addresses the specific literacy needs that were identified by the community.
5. reaching out to all the other agencies and professionals who serve families in our community to inform them about the program and ask for their help in recruiting potential participants. These include:
   • public health services
   • legal aid and individual lawyers
   • doctors and specialists
   • housing
   • social services
   • home visiting
   • employment
   • child care centres
   • family resource centres
   • schools, libraries
   • adult literacy programs
   • food banks
   • religious institutions
6. developing outreach materials (flyer, brochure, poster) to attract and recruit participants. These materials:
   • follow the principles of clear language and design ^{Footnote 10}
   • explain where and when the program is offered
   • are colourful, with lots of photos and graphics
   • indicate if the program is free, or what the costs will be
   • describe anything else that may be free (such as child care, snacks, bus tickets, books and toys to borrow)
   • outline any criteria (such as for a specifi c age or linguistic group or target group e.g. Ontario Works clients, Mexican Mennonites)
   • address reasons why people may not have entered other programs and appeal to personal goals they might have
   • give a person’s name and a phone number to call for more information are translated into the languages of the community

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