“with the little red reading house now under the stewardship of the owerko centre, we will have so many wonderful ways to link ucalgary research with children and families. the cross-pollination of ideas will lead to so many new insights and discoveries in children’s health and well-being.”dr. susan graham, director, owerko centre at the alberta children’s hospital research institute.big book salerotary club of calgary learn morecalgary reads big book sale is the namesake fundraiser that attracts thousands of calgarians to discover pre-loved books of every genre over 10 days at the calgary curling club. proceeds now support local early literacy initiatives, including some of the exciting projects of our seed partners.the rotary club of calgary is passionate about early literacy and uplifting the next generation. as the new stewards of the sale, in 2023, rotary helped see 200,000 books make it to sale tables, 1,150 volunteers giving time, and 14,176 readers discovering new books. a total of $501,000 was raised and distributed by rotary to help calgary children become stronger readers.“this book sale is such an impactful, grassroots way to uplift the community and do something meaningful for the next generation, which is what rotary is all about, so we’re very proud and excited to have this role with the big book sale.”manon mitchell, past president, rotary club of calgary.meet our dandelion partnershear firsthand from leaders at these incredible organizations and discover why we’re so excited about this next chapter.letting go – letting growwhen we created our dandelion strategy, it was with the bold hope that closing and gifting our ‘seeds’ to other organizations could actually help us scale, spread out and ensure more children become thriving readers.in this report from mount royal university’s institute for community prosperity, explore the strategy, the outcomes and the framework other nonprofits could follow as they look for innovative ways to grow their impact. 🍃 the next big book saleevery spring, thousands of people eagerly take part in the calgary reads big book sale. our many volunteers, book donors and shoppers all share incredible passion for childhood literacy, and together, we help ensure a bright start for local children and families.the big book sale is one more way you can support this important cause. stay tuned as we share details about the 2024 calgary reads big book sale!2021-22 report to communitythis was a special year for so many reasons. from our little red reading van sharing the joy of books to the biggest big book sale yet, there was proof, everywhere, that early literacy matters. we are so grateful to have people like you helping to build a thriving community that reads.please take a moment to read our 2021-22 report to community: from small seeds grow big things. early literacy mattersevery child has a right to read. together, the dandelion seed partners are carrying forward the important early literacy work of calgary reads to ensure more children have access to books, strong reading role models and safe, fun reading places. with these reading essentials, even more critical after the learning loss of the pandemic, children can enjoy a bright start in school and in life.when children have a home library, as little as 20 books of their own, they achieve three more years of schooling than children who don’t have any books at home.source: we are teachers25% of children grow up in a home without bookssource: we are teachersby age 3, children from the wealthiest and poorest homes are separated by a gap of millions of words.source: university of kansas study, betty hart & todd risley, & mapping the early language