The original Buy One Donate One (BODO) project ended in 2015. The project delivered 195 free copies (approx. $5000)
There have been 734 copies of this new edition delivered to date. There are outstanding requests for 3132 copies at this time. The Reconciliation Project will try and fulfill those requests and hopefully more. Here’s a list of recent recipients and/or sponsors that delivered free copies themselves or in collaboration with the author.
| A is for Aboriginal – Free Distribution | |
| Central City Foundation | 69 |
| IRSSS | 117 |
| Vancouver Friendship Centre | 51 |
| Vancouver Native Health Society | 51 |
| Whalley Little League | 76 |
| Xpey Elementary | 102 |
| Community events and gifting | 166 |
| Author Giveaways | 102 |
| Reconciliation Distribution to Date | 734 |
You are invited to request free copies here.
Or if you wish to purchase/sponsor free copies at $6.00 each please click here.
REQUESTS
The Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS)
IRSSS began in 1994 as a working committee of the First Nations Summit. We were known as the Residential School Project, housed out of and as a part of the BC First Nations Summit. Our work was primarily to assist Survivors with the litigation process pertaining to Residential School abuses. In more recent years our work has expanded to include assisting the descendants of Survivors and implementing Community education measures (Indigenous & Non-Indigenous).
WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 117 (Delivered 117)
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John Norquay Elementary School (Vancouver)
John Norquay Elementary School seeks to enable students to become lifelong learners and valuable citizens in a learning environment supported by teachers and parents.?
WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 6
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Nusdeh Yoh School
Nusdeh Yoh is an Aboriginal Choice School in Prince George. We were the first Aboriginal Choice school in Canada. Being an urban school, our school population is very diverse. We have students from many different Aboriginal groups from all over British Columbia and other areas of Canada. Our school is located in the lowest income area of Prince George, and many of our students have few if any books at home. This is a beautiful book that we would love to be able to offer our families. The exciting thing is that many of them will see their people’s name written in a book, and that will give them a sense of pride in who they are and that they are finally being recognized. I know this because it is how myself and our administrators felt when we each saw our own people in your book. Thank you for your consideration
WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 160
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Highview Public School
Aurora Ontario
WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 2
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Hernewood Intermediate School
Neighbours dwell close to each other and have similar interests at heart. In the 1860’s John Hunter-Duvar lived on his 700 acre estate called AHernewood@ located on Mill River, Lot 5, P.E.I. During that time and until well into the 1900’s, the First Nations People from Lennox Island would spend one season or another along Mill River. At that time they would hunt and fish and intermingle with local farmers, fishermen and hunters. People who lived along the river on a more permanent basis enjoyed the company of their migratory neighbours. Often in the winter you could see their children skating and playing together on the river or attending the closest one room school house. Hernewood Intermediate School was built back from the river on the Hernewood estate and continues to carry on the tradition of neighbours, from near and far, coming together to learn and grow.
WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 12
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Abigale Cross
An individual request.
NO WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 1
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Tkemlups te Secwepemc (Kamloops Indian Band)
The Tk‘emlúpsemc, ‘the people of the confluence’, now known as the Tk’emlúps te Secwe?pemc are members of the Interior-Salish Secwepemc (Shuswap) speaking peoples of British Columbia. The Shuswap or Secwepemc (pronounced suh-Wep-muhc) people occupy a vast territory of the interior of British Columbia. This traditional territory stretches from the Columbia River valley along the Rocky Mountains, west to the Fraser River, and south to the Arrow Lakes. Most Secwepemc people live in the river valleys.
WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 2
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Aboriginal e-Mentoring
Aboriginal eMentoring BC is an online mentoring program that connects Aboriginal youth with mentors in post-secondary programs across British Columbia. Our mission is to support Aboriginal youth build unique pathways to success through online mentoring. We believe every Aboriginal youth should have the preparation and access to university or college education.
WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 3
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Brooklands Elementary School – Winnipeg
Brooklands School is committed to providing our students with a safe, nurturing, and academically challenging environment. Our school promotes respect, responsibility and development of life skills.
Brooklands offers a full-day kindergarten, AAA programming, full scale guided reading support for all levels, three primary and three intermediate multi-age classrooms and involvement in Learning Through the Arts program. The school promotes a positive culture through activities such as the School Breakfast Program, social skills assemblies, our annual Christmas dinner and our Family Wellness Fair. Our school gives each student the opportunity to develop critical thinking and decision making skills, a strong feeling of self worth and an understanding of his or her social responsibility.
WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 190
Books with no Bounds
The mission of Books With No Bounds is to provide Aboriginal children and teens living in remote communities, with books donated by publishers, authors, schools, individuals and organizations. Books With No Bounds organizes, catalogues, packs, and sends appropriate books to the Nishnawbe Aski Nations so that Aboriginal children and teens are given critical building blocks for literacy success. Teen sisters, Julia and Emma Mogus, co-founded Books With No Bounds because they believe that every child deserves access to books, no matter where they live. They wrote on their blog: ‘We are Teen Sisters On A Mission’ to bring books to First Nation Children in remote communities in Ontairo. We will provide the necessary tools to improve literacy skills among Aboriginal Children and Teens aand show our fellow brothers and sisters to the north we care! Our former Lieutenant Governor, James Bartleman once said, “My ticket out of a life of poverty was reading. It opened up a world of imagination and new possibilities.” He states, “With reading, I began to do well in school. I was prepared to take advantage of the opportunities as I went along.” It is our mission to foster that same love of reading to our friends.
WEBSITE – FACEBOOK Number of copies requested: 28 (Delivered 28)
xpey Elementary
Through outstanding teaching in a nurturing environment, xpey Elementary is academically rigorous and teaches the values of compassion for self, for others and for the earth.
Through outstanding teaching in a nurturing environment, xpeyx Elementary is academically rigorous and teaches the values of compassion for self, for others and for the earth. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students from Metro Vancouver are welcome to enroll in this unique and innovative school. The Aboriginal Focus School will strive for educational excellence and an environment where students are confident, critical thinkers and engaged learners. The curriculum is respectful of local First Nations and the shared values, experiences and histories of all Aboriginal peoples. It is respectful of the shared history between Aboriginal peoples and Canada and about a shared worldview between Aboriginal people and environmentalists. WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 102 (102 delivered)
BC Aboriginal Child Care Society
The Aboriginal Head Start Urban and Northern Initiative started in 1995 and now there are 125 Aboriginal Head Start (AHS) sites in Canada. Eagle’s Nest Aboriginal Head Start is one of two sites in Vancouver hosted by the BC Aboriginal Child Care Society. We are located in the heart of the downtown eastside in a very special childcare center that has been lovingly developed through extensive parent and Elder involvement. Our program is based on the six key components of AHS: Culture and Language Education and School Readiness Health Promotion Nutrition Social Support Parent and Family Involvement
WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 80 (14 Delivered)
Vancouver Native Health Society – Family Services
Vancouver Native Health Society (VNHS) was established in 1991 with a mission to improve and promote the health of individuals with a focus on the Aboriginal community residing in Greater Vancouver. Today, Vancouver Native Health Society delivers comprehensive medical, counselling and social services generally to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Aboriginal community. The majority of our clients struggle with overlapping issues and con-current health issues such as substance abuse, mental health, chronic disease, homelessness and poverty. Over the past 20 years, Vancouver Native Health Society has grown into a well-known and respected community based organization. We deliver unique programs and services from the four quadrants of the medicine wheel: the physical, the emotional, the spiritual and the mental aspects of the individual. The books will be used in the many programs delivered by the Society’s Aboriginal Child and Family Support Services initiatives. They offer a variety of community-based services to assist and support caregivers with the goal of promoting parental competency and strengthening family life, leading to healthy child and family development. WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 300 (98 Delivered)
New Westminster School District #40
Demographics: The City of New Westminster is part of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) and is located in the region’s geographic centre, along the north bank of the Fraser River. It has a population of approximately 59,000 people (city website, 2008) and is expected to grow to 84,000 by 2021. The New Westminster School District has a student enrolment of 6,095 in Kindergarten to grade 12. The District also includes 267 full-time equivalent adult students as well as students in Community and International Programs. The District’s enrolment has grown over the past few years and is projected to continue to increase slightly. Click here to view information on schools in the New Westminster School District. Unique Characteristics: The student population is reflective of the city’s population with a full range of social and cultural backgrounds which combine to form a rich and diverse presence in the schools. In the K-12 system, there are 6095 students, currently 406 Aboriginal students, 696 English as a Second Language (ESL) students, 823 French Immersion students and 256 students with special needs (i.e., levels one, two and three). These students are taught by over 400 teachers in the District (about 370 full time equivalents or FTEs). There are 12 schools in the District (nine elementary, two middle, and one secondary school). In addition, there are three Youth Alternate Programs, two Adult Learning Centres, and a Home Learners’ Program in the District with a satellite Home Learners’ Program on Bowen Island. The annual budget for the District is 55.2 million dollars. Of particular note, the District is currently in the process of planning to construct a new secondary school to replace the existing new Westminster Secondary School building, which would be the largest capital project of its kind every to be undertaken by the Ministry of Education in the history of the Province. A part of this capital project is the completion of the middle school model across the District, with the construction of a new middle school and a new elementary school on the site where St. Mary’s Hospital previously stood on Royal Avenue. WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 311
Vancouver Native Housing Society (VNHS)
The mission of Vancouver Native Housing Society is to provide safe, secure, affordable housing for Aboriginal individuals and families living in the urban setting. VNHS was founded in 1984 and manages a portfolio of 17 buildings with a total of 706 units. The Society currently houses approximately 8% of the urban Aboriginal population. We work in partnership with federal and provincial government agencies to achieve affordability for individuals and families with low incomes. In 1984 the primary funding agency was the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), which provided subsidies through the Urban Native Housing Program. In 1997 the responsibility for funding all housing programs was transferred to BC Housing; all developments and acquisitions after 1997 were done in partnership with this provincial housing agency. In 2013, BC Housing transferred responsibility for administration of VNHS housing subsidies to the Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA). Although our original and ongoing mandate is to focus on the housing needs of the urban Aboriginal community we have expanded our operations to include housing solutions for seniors, youth, women at risk, persons living with mental illness, as well as those who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless. Recognizing that providing housing alone is not enough, some VNHS buildings include on-site support services; in all of our housing developments we strive to help tenants connect to available resources in the community when needed. In recent years the Society has embraced the social enterprise model. In the face of declining government financial support, we work with tenants and the community at large to build economic and individual capacity by adopting an entrepreneurial approach. Two such ventures are the Urban Aboriginal Art Gallery and Skwachays Lodge, both established in 2012.
WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 111 (24 Delivered)
Vancouver School Board – Aboriginal Education
The Vancouver Board of Education, the Aboriginal Communities and the Ministry of Education continue to work together to improve the educational experiences for Aboriginal students. Together we have created the Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement that embodies the shared visions and commitment of all participating parties to the success of Aboriginal students in the following areas:
- Belonging
- Mastery of Skills
- Culture and Community
As well, students have the opportunity to obtain additional support provided by the district’s Aboriginal Programs and Services. The Aboriginal Program and Services are delivered to enhance the student’s educational experiences which align with the above stated goal areas of the Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement. The programs and services are available throughout the school year to elementary, secondary and alternative program students for who have identified or have had parent/guardians identify them as having Aboriginal ancestry (First Nations, status and non-status, Métis, and Inuit) on the school registration form. The Vancouver Board of Education offers these additional services in a variety of ways:
- Support Services provided by an Aboriginal School Support Worker or Aboriginal Resource Teacher, which may include cultural, academic, social and emotional support, parent liaison and advocacy;
- District wide cultural projects, resources, leadership opportunities, and celebrations
- School based cultural programs and/or courses.
For students who would like to receive service or participate in the variety of cultural projects offered throughout the district, parent/guardian consent forms can be obtained at the school. WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 2000
Peace River South – District #59
The Peace River South Board of Education realizes the importance of “Engaging each Learner” within a personalized learning agenda. Foundational to the engagement of each learner is the recognition that a strong foundation in literacy skills will provide the underpinnings of a community literate in reading, writing, numeracy skills and the process skills necessary to allow each student to realize his or her full potential. The District Literacy Plan is a commitment of collaboration with key community stakeholders to improve literacy for all. WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 50
Central Okanagan School District – Aboriginal Education
“The Goals of the Aboriginal Education Program for the Central Okanagan School District are: to improve the level and standard of literacy at all grade levels; to improve the graduation rates of Aboriginal secondary school students; and to offer all learners an opportunity to gain a greater awareness of Aboriginal cultures and histories.” way’ lim l?mt WEBSITE Number of copies requested: 50
Mission School District
The District was gifted 27 copies through the Whalley Little League connection.