Christine Grimard
Northern News Services
Friday, May 04, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Weledeh Catholic school will receive $150,000 over the next three years to buy books and promote literacy in the school.

The Indigo bookstore chain gives $1.5 million a year to schools to purchase books and literacy materials through its Love of Reading program.

Principal Merril Dean never expected to get so much when she applied for the grant.

Last week she was called by Heather Reisman, CEO of Indigo, for what she thought was an interview to be short-listed.

"I've never done an interview that's been worth this much," Dean said, and she told Reisman about how nervous she was.

But Reisman had already decided.

She told Dean the school wouldn't be getting the $115,000 for which she had asked. Instead, the school would be getting $150,000.

"I was rendered speechless," said Dean. "And anyone who knows me knows that doesn't happen that often."

The school will receive $45,000 a year for the next three years to purchase books through Indigo/Chapters, and an additional $5,000 cheque every year to be spent on any literacy activity the school desires.

Dean said she hasn't had time to decide how that money will be spent.

The school's librarian Joyce Karau said that with an average price of $25 a book, that's 2,000 books a year that will be coming into the school.

"It's going to require a lot of time management," said Karau. Dean said Reisman told her the reason the company is so generous with their grants is so that the government can recognize they're not funding schools properly.

"At least they're recognizing the importance of literacy," said Dean.

This isn't the first time Weledeh has received help from private enterprise for literacy funding.

Last summer Weledeh received $800 from TD Bank through their Principals' Summer Reading Challenge.

An avid reader herself, Dean said she hardly knows where to begin spending the $150,000.

"My daughter said to me mom, you must be living a dream," she said. "You have endless money to spend on books."