Skip to content
Donate
crayons

We will gift books to over 3,000 children in 14 elementary schools in 2025-2026

The Need

little italy

Low-Income Families in Ottawa

The household income of Ottawa’s ten highest-income neighbourhoods is 2.7 times greater than that of Ottawa’s ten lowest-income neighbourhoods.

Ottawa’s ten lowest-income neighbourhoods have the highest level of socioeconomic disadvantage. Comparatively, these neighbourhoods have:

  • Almost twice as many first generation immigrants
  • 5 times more residents that can speak neither English nor French
  • 3 times more residents considered part of racialized populations
  • 7 times more refugees
  • Almost 3 times as many single-parent families
  • Twice the rate of unemployment
  • Almost twice as much unaffordable housing
  • Twice as many indigenous residents

Income and Educational Outcomes

A family’s income level affects the literacy skills of their children.

Comparatively, children from Ottawa’s ten lowest-income neighbourhoods generally attend lower-ranked schools. These schools have:

  • More than twice as many children who are vulnerable to language and cognitive development problems
  • Almost 4 times the number of ESL (English as a Second Language) or ALF (Programme d’actualisation linguistique en français) students
  • 15% fewer Grade 3 students who indicated that they “Like to Read Most of the Time”
  • 23% fewer Grade 6 students who indicated that they “Like to Read Most of the Time”
  • 28% fewer Grade 3 students who meet provincial reading standards
  • 23% fewer Grade 6 students who meet provincial reading standards
crayons
children holding bags

Why Does It Matter?

Children’s reading skills have a real impact on their lives.

Without special help, students experiencing reading difficulties by the end of Grade 1 almost never achieve average reading skills scores by the end of elementary school.

Studies show a child’s vocabulary at age five is a predictor of vocabulary at age 17; early intervention can change a child’s language development.

75% of young people who had the highest levels of reading proficiency at age 15 had completed some form of postsecondary education by age 25.

For each additional year of education that a person receives, earnings increase by approximately 8% per year; high school graduates earn approximately 50% more than those without high school diplomas.

A 1% increase in literacy in our population could boost our national income by $32 billion.

Help Us Make a Difference

Your donation helps us gift books to children who need them most. Every child deserves the joy of owning their own book.

Please Donate