Okanagan Regional Library received a $7,400 grant from the Central Okanagan Foundation for a Sign With Me Story Time. The ASL story-time is a 90-minute library program for preschool to early elementary children and their families. It is a bilingual program that enables both the deaf and the hearing community members to participate in a story time to learn early literacy skills in English and American Sign Language. All the content is presented simultaneously in ASL and English with a Librarian and a Deaf Storyteller. This program is offered in the Rutland and Westbank branches of the ORL. During this story-time, a variety of tools are used to keep kids engaged and learning including, stories, songs, rhymes, puppets, and other props. This program enhances community well-being by increasing the understanding of the deaf community, provides opportunities for families to meet and socialize with each other, and helps the library become more inclusive to the deaf community and better able to meet their needs. ASL Story Time series provides families with a library program that provides equal opportunity for speech, language, education, and communication. Deaf children, they will be included in a story-time that increases their literacy skills and knowledge of the resources available. For hearing children they will get to experience a new language, ASL. Program Details: Rutland Library 3rd Saturday of the month @ 10:30 am Starting September 15, 2018 Rutland Branch of the ORL is located at #20 - 301 Hwy. 33 West, Kelowna, BC. V1X 1X8; call the branch at (250) 765-8165 for more information. Westbank Library 4th Saturday of the month @ 10:30 am Starting September 22, 2018 Westbank Branch of the ORL is located at #31 - 2484 Main St. (Hwy 97 S), West Kelowna, BC. V4T 2G2; call the branch at (250) 768-4369 for more information.
About the Central Okanagan Foundation:
The Central Okanagan Foundation is a community foundation providing an ongoing contribution to the quality of life in our community through building endowments, grant making and community leadership. We bring donors and charities together to provide for the needs of the community today, tomorrow and forever. About Okanagan Regional Library: Established in 1936, the Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) is the 16th largest library system in Canada, serving over 370,000 residents through 29 branches. It covers 59,600 square kilometres of some of the most beautiful territories in BC, stretching from Golden in the Rockies to Osoyoos in the heart of the Okanagan wine and fruit growing areas. The system is staffed by energetic and committed people who have begun the shift to a more learning and technology-focused service.