Recommended Resources

Roussy, Yvonne, and Doug Hart. Seeing the Need: Meeting the Need. Toronto, ON: Ontario Literacy Coalition, 2002.

This report on recruitment and retention issues in literacy and basic skills programs is a useful comparative reference for agencies looking to recruit and retain participants with low-literacy skills for family literacy programs. The research project explored reasons adults enroll in LBS programs in the first place, factors that affect whether or not learners complete programs and what discourages their participation, what learners are doing six months after enrolling and how their expectations may have changed.

Charity Village www.charityvillage.com

This Internet resource provides information on a range of topics relevant to the nonprofit sector in Canada. For articles about promotion and recruitment go to Main Street (home page) and click on Library, then Research Section, then the Marketing and Communications section. Look for these particularly relevant articles:

• “Non-Profit Marketing Savvy: What Does it Take to Get Noticed?” by L.C. Luchuk
• “Hunches are Not Enough — Why it Pays to Poll” by Bob Penner
• “Make Friends with the Media” by Sue Richards
• “Interviews — Live or Taped” by Al Rothstein
• “Getting Your Articles Published — Practical Techniques” by Canadian FundRaiser

Verizon Literacy University (VLU) www.vluonline.org

VLU offers free high-quality short online courses on a range of topics relevant to family literacy (including, for example, “Reaching Out to Homeless and Migrant Families”). These courses are developed and taught by highly qualifi ed professionals associated with the National Center for Family Literacy. For more information, to browse through their resource center, and to enroll in courses visit: http://www.vluonline.org/course/index.asp.