FURTHER EDUCATION SOCIETY'S NEWSLETTER    ~   JUNE 2006   ISSUE 5

Thank You for Raising Our Spirits!

For 10 years, the Further Education Society has been dedicated to "raising the spirits" of families in need and on May 13th - you helped to "raise our spirits" by celebrating a decade of doing the work we are most passionate about - helping to improve the lives of low-literate families.

Our first ever fund-raiser, held at the Willow Park Wine and Spirits Store was a great success. Willow Park staff provided expertise, wonderful hors d'oeuvres and a beautiful venue. We are grateful also for all the support we received from our learners, program staff, community supporters, Further Education Society board members, fund-raising committee members and the friends of Literacy who attended. Ten years ago, the Further Education Society was founded upon a passion for learning, literacy and parenting and after 10 years of work, our commitment to this passion has grown in leaps and bounds. We are proud of the work we do and the milestones we?ve achieved. When we hear about the difference we have made in the lives of not just individuals, but entire families?we glow with pride, (as you may read on page 4 of this newsletter.)

The generosity of our donors, sponsors and guests was truly inspiring. We are pleased to report that we exceeded our fund-raising goal. The dollars we received will be used to:

• Train new facilitators for our various programs
• Assist with educational research and development efforts
• Develop training materials and resources
• Help provide the expertise to deliver our local programs
• Build an endowment fund
• Provide children?s books and book bags for Books for Babies program
• Build community capacity to deliver family literacy programs

Behind any great event is a team of dedicated individuals who devote their time, talents and energies to create a fundraiser that will help to improve the lives of countless families.

Finally we would like to thank BowValley College for over 10 years of support of our work. We are grateful to have a home in such a positive and encouraging environment.