Band of Heroes: Indigo commits $1 million in educational resources to Support Canadian Families in High-Needs Communities

It's a new week of #BandofHeroes, where we love to celebrate positive news from our partners in response to the on-going Coronavirus pandemic. Up next, a brand that all Canadians love, Indigo. The brand is committing $1 million to support literacy in high-needs communities across Canada. Read on to learn more about Indigo’s initiative. 

The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation commits $1 million to families in need across Canada

With schools being closed due to COVID-19, Canadian families no longer have access to the educational resources that school libraries usually provide. The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation has created the Indigo Love Reading Community Response Fund, committing $1 million in books and educational resources to support Canadian children communities in need during the Coronavirus pandemic, so their children can keep receiving education at home. 

“Books are critical to education and as a vehicle to ’travel’ to new places and ‘meet’ new people. This is important always and especially at this moment,” said Heather Reisman, Chair of the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation. 

Read more here.

Partnering with Canadian organizations to distribute books across the country

The Foundation has partnered with three Canadian organizations to help distribute books to communities in need across the country: Jays Care Foundation, Martin Family Initiative, and Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. 

“Now, more than ever, we are thankful to have a teammate like the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation to break down educational barriers for kids who need it most. Their generous donation will further literacy opportunities for thousands of kids in Jays Care programs across Canada.” Said Robert Witchel, Executive Director of Jays Care Foundation. 

Read more here.

Providing grants to Canadian non-profit organizations 

Indigo also commits to provide grants to local non-profit organizations that currently serve children and their families in the communities that need it the most. Applications are open now and organizations are encouraged to apply at loveofreading.org.

The Indigo Love of Response Community Response Fund is an addition to a series of programs such as the Literacy Fund Grant and Adopt a School program, which provide educational resources and better access to books to elementary schools. Since it was created in 2004, the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation has asupported over 3,000 schools and over million students by providing $31 million dollars in funding. 

Read more about the initiative or apply for funding through the program, here.

These are only a few new initiatives that Indigo is doing to respond to communities they serve during this time. To date, Indigo has also given over $1,092,000 to local youth sports teams in North America through FlipGive.