Books for BC Babies needs $250K to survive

Burnaby NewsLeader
By Wanda Chow

A program credited with encouraging parents to read to their babies and boosting early literacy needs more than $250,000 to continue after the provincial government cut its funding earlier this year.

Since 2005, Books for BC Babies has provided free kits to every baby born in the province, each of which include a board book, a CD of rhymes and songs and information on library resources and how to promote early childhood development.

In 2009, the program distributed more than 40,000 kits, mainly during the first visit by a public health nurse to a home after a baby’s birth. While organizers have enough materials to produce kits for the rest of the year, they need to raise more than $250,000 in donations and sponsorships to carry on in 2011. Each kit costs about $7 to produce.

But while the materials are an integral part of the program, Edel Toner-Rogala, Burnaby’s chief librarian, stressed it’s not just about the free book.

“Reading to your baby isn’t just about the book,” said Toner-Rogala, of Burnaby Public Library, one of the provincewide partners in the program.

“It’s about exposing your child to language and the importance of speaking to your baby. People underestimate that. Children learn to speak by being spoken to, spoken with.”

It’s an introduction to language skills that is fundamental to all future development and learning, she said, adding when parents read with their children it also builds the bond between them.

“It’s all about getting them ready to read. It’s about recognizing the magic. There’s this sense that these markings on this piece of paper somehow translates to sounds and ideas that I can understand.”

A 2008 survey of parents in the program showed some had not thought of reading to newborns before. As a result of Books for BC Babies, more than 60 per cent were looking at books with their babies more often, 60 per cent were checking out baby materials from the library and 91 per cent planned to attend library programs for parents and infants.

The survey also showed the program impacted parents directly as well, with 50 per cent saying they were using the library more often, and 34 per cent joining the library for the first time.

Toner-Rogala noted that when babies are spoken and read to, benefits such as language skills take place no matter what language it happens in. Books for BC Babies even provides bilingual books in several different languages to promote an improved sense of cultural identity and for non-English-speaking caregivers, such as grandparents, to participate.

For more information or to donate, visit http://books4babies.bclibrary.ca/for-supporters.

VIFF Attendees Get the Sundance Treatment

Meetingmax Systems to provide housing reservation technology for film festival

Vancouver, BC; September 16, 2010 – While organizers of the Vancouver International Film Festival have countless details to worry about, this year they won’t be worrying about hotel reservations. As a festival sponsor, Vancouver-based Meetingmax Systems will be providing its online housing reservation technology to manage room bookings for visiting filmmakers, VIPs and guests. This follows the successful use of the online platform at last year’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

“We were looking for a way to make sure that housing arrangements for our guests would run seamlessly and were impressed with the results that Meetingmax produced at Sundance,” said Betty Verkuil, Director of Development, VIFF. “Having the support of local companies for our festival is critical for our success. We’re pleased to have technology developed by a Vancouver business play a key role in the festival’s logistics.”

With eight hotels providing rooms for the festival, VIFF organizers wanted to simplify the process of reserving rooms for VIPs and guests. Instead of having to use each hotel’s system, organizers can manage all hotel bookings through one central portal.

While Meetingmax is based in Vancouver, the organization primarily works with convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs), meeting planners, and organizations in the United States. This will mark one of the first times that the system will be used in Vancouver by local hotels and event planners.

“Our partnership with VIFF will allow potential clients to explore the customizable features of our online booking platform,” says Jeff Duncan, COO, Meetingmax Systems. “In turn, our system will streamline the housing reservations process for festival organizers, which can otherwise be an unnecessarily time-consuming element of event management.”

Duncan developed Meetingmax’s online housing reservation platform after years of organizing events and conferences. Given the time required to manage rooms at various hotels for events, he began looking for an existing software solution that could streamline the process. After an unsuccessful search, he spearheaded the development of Meetingmax’s own software in 2007.

Since then, the company has seen steady growth. The software is now used by CVBs in more than 20 destinations across North America. In 2009, Meetingmax was responsible for processing more than $7 million in hotel transactions.

“Our CVB clients have responded with positive feedback on their experiences with the Meetingmax system,” continues Duncan. “We are hearing that conference planners are now asking for the service from CVBs before making a final decision on which city gets their conference business.”

Books for BC Babies...

...in Okanagan Child Magazine.

Books for BC Babies

Books 4 BC Babies in today's Vancouver Sun.

Author's 'uncle enzymes' fuelled bestselling book for newborns

BY DARAH HANSEN, VANCOUVER SUN
Richard Van Camp knew he was on to something special from the moment he began writing Welcome Song for Baby.

The Edmonton-based author was commissioned to write the book in 2006 just as close friends announced they were expecting their first child, followed quickly by news his brother and sister-in-law were also about to become new parents.

"I had uncle enzymes coursing through me," Van Camp recalled of his literary inspiration. "I wanted to put all that love, all those good wishes into this little lullaby.

The result was a Canadian bestseller, with parents and newborns across the country responding warmly to the board book's stunning photography and endearing storyline.

"Hey-yah-hey. Hey-yah-hey. Heyyah-hey. Dear one, cherished one, loved one. You have made the world beautiful again," the story reads -- its refrain a rhythmic tribute to Van Camp's aboriginal roots as a member of the Dogrib Dene from the Northwest Territories.

For Rhian Piprell, co-chair of Books for BC Babies, Welcome Song's unexpected success was one more reason to celebrate the importance of early literary.

Piprell's organization commissioned the story as part of its continuing mission to supply new moms and dads in the province with tools they need to engage their children in reading, as early as possible. Each year the organization releases a book by a Canadian author to about 42,000 families across B.C., along with a CD of songs and an information guide encouraging parents to read to their newborns.

"Reading, talking and singing to newborns are the best ways to build early language and literacy skills -- skills that impact a child's lifelong development," Piprell said.

"By providing a parenting resource at a crucial stage of a child's life, we can give kids the best chance at future success."

Hillel Goelman, an education professor at the University of B.C., said there is significant research to support the notion that children can learn much from books, even at a young age.

Early on, Goelman said, children associate positive emotions from the sensation of being held and cuddled by their parents or caregivers during storytime. "It creates an expectation that reading is a very pleasurable activity. It's fun," he said.

Reading is also a critical element in a child's vocabulary development. "They are building up a comprehension, the ability to understand what words mean," Goelman said.

Van Camp said he's thrilled to be part of a child's lifelong love of literacy.

"The things that you are passing on to a growing miracle have to be chosen really carefully so that's where Welcome Song for Baby really came from.

"It's really from that deep love that I have for humanity and wanting to pass on a great spirit every night it was read, wherever it was read." To learn more about Books for BC Babies, and how to contribute, go to http://books4babies.bclibrary.ca/

Read more:http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/Author+uncle+enzymes+fuelled+bestselling+book+newborns/3521453/story.html#ixzz0zX0hD36t

Books for BC Babies in Jeopardy

Vancouver, BC; September 14, 2010 – Books for BC Babies (B4B) is urgently seeking financial support in order to continue operations. B4B is an early literacy and parenting program that seeks to address developmental challenges at the earliest stages in the lives of all BC children, including the twenty-nine per cent that arrive at Kindergarten developmentally vulnerable.1 In order to operate in 2011, B4B needs to raise more than $250,000 through private donations or sponsorships before January.

B4B was launched in BC in 2005, and had been fully funded by the provincial government until recent cutbacks. The program is based on extensive research that supports the correlation between positive newborn environments and children’s future success rates. The program delivers learning resources directly to families of all newborns in BC and connects them to additional resources in their community. In 2009, more than 40,000 resource kits were distributed.

“Reading, talking, and singing to newborns are the best ways to build early language and literacy skills – skills that impact a child’s lifelong development,” says Rhian Piprell, Co-Chair, Books for BC Babies. “By providing a parenting resource at a crucial stage of a child’s life, we can give kids the best chance at future success.”

Research conducted by The Council for Early Child Development has demonstrated that newborn experiences matter. The relationship between caregiver and infant plays a pivotal role in influencing neural pathways for language and higher cognitive functions, especially within the first 12 months of a child’s life.2

“Early childhood development depends upon the experiences children have in the environments where they grow,” says Dr. Clyde Hertzman, Director, Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) UBC. “The Books for BC Babies program provides families with the resources they need early in the child's life to begin to create the positive experiences that influence the child’s subsequent life chances.”

In most communities, public libraries work with public health nurses and health centres to deliver the Books for BC Babies Resource Kits to families of newborns. The kits include tools to get families started in reading, singing, and playing with their babies. Materials include a guide for parents, a board book, a CD of rhymes and songs, and information about local library and community resources.

In order to save the program, the B4B Steering Committee is looking for donations from the public and has developed a full range of sponsorship opportunities for the private sector. Given that the program is delivered by existing resources, one hundred percent of funds raised will be used to purchase Books for BC Babies kits. Each kit costs approximately seven dollars.

Donations can be made online at http://books4babies.bclibrary.ca/for-supporters. Companies interested in sponsorship opportunities can contact program co-chairs Rhian Piprell at 604-937-4132 (or via email rpiprell@library.coquitlam.bc.ca) or Jim Looney at 604-435-1551 (Jim.Looney@shaw.ca).

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1 “15 by 15”, The Business Council of BC. www.earlylearning.ubc.ca/for-you/business/

2 “The Science of Early Child Development.” Council for Early Child Development. April 2010.

Be Remarkable

The Prince George Citizen picked up the Be Remarkable Facebook community campaign.

South Shore CVA Teams With Meetingmax

CVA signs agreement to streamline housing reservations for visiting sports teams

Hammond, IN and Vancouver, BC; August 25, 2010 – As part of its ongoing investment in technology, the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority (CVA) has engaged Meetingmax Systems to handle its online housing reservation needs. Through the agreement, South Shore CVA will use Meetingmax’s system to manage housing bookings for conference and event attendees, including teams traveling to the region’s numerous sports tournaments.

“While convention traffic is important to us, our region’s core strength lies in our ability to host major sports tournaments,” says Speros Batistatos, President and CEO of the South Shore CVA. “But this type of business requires that we book teams and their families into numerous hotels across the region. Meetingmax’s system helps us streamline that process for our customers and hoteliers.”

By using Meetingmax’s system, instead of having to call different hotels and reserve rooms with their own credit card, a coach or event planner can make one call to the CVA to secure room blocks. Each tournament attendee is then directed to log onto the system to book and pay for their own room.

“Instead of spending our budget on visitors’ guides, we are investing in technology and improving the efficiency of our marketing efforts,” continues Batistatos. “By having people reserve their housing through us, we can break down the demographics, learn more about our customers, and build a targeted email database.”

Meetingmax’s system ties directly into the CVA’s award-winning email marketing program. Once guests have booked in, the CVA sends them their room confirmation along with information about what to do when they arrive and coupons for partner restaurants and attractions. After checkout, the CVA emails visitors a survey to gauge their satisfaction with the hotel, local restaurants, and sports facilities. South Shore then provides this feedback to the other organizations.

“Our system helps South Shore build relationships and alleviate their clients’ stress by not having to run around and contract with different hotels,” says Jeff Duncan, COO, Meetingmax Systems. “We can provide their event planners with quantitative data that they can use to plan next year’s event. For example, by tracking bookings, we know that their teams want to book at hotels with a pool, that offer continental breakfast, or are close to certain facilities.”

As part of its selection process, South Shore looked at several other housing systems but ultimately selected Meetingmax for its user-friendly interface, customizable features, and affordable per-reservation fee.

In addition to deploying online housing, South Shore has also embraced other technology to improve service and efficiency. Recently, the organization launched a mobi site for mobile phones and has deployed advanced database marketing tools to help drive tourist traffic.

About South Shore CVA:
The South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority is the sales and marketing organization leading the hospitality industry and supporting its partners in the development and promotion of tourist attractions along Indiana's south shore of Lake Michigan.