Victoria Literacy Connection and the Victoria Stamp Club
There has always been a tight connection between philately and literacy. Where would our hobby be if not for letters and correspondence being sent around the world? And yet, not everyone is able to easily send a letter to a friend, whether digitally or on paper. Without literacy skills it is difficult to navigate the most basic functions in our communities, let alone mailing a letter.
One in five Canadians have literacy issues. These are folks who speak English fluently but need support to read and write their primary language. There are several local organizations, collectively forming the Greater Victoria Literacy Alliance (GVAL), who help youth and adults improve their literacy skills. The Victoria Stamp Club has connected with one group, the Victoria Literacy Connection, to assist with a very popular program.
The Victoria Literacy Connection and the Pen Pal Club
The small but vital group at the Victoria Literacy Connection offers a wide variety of literacy support. They offer reading and writing tutoring, math tutoring and basic tech tutoring from their office on Pembroke Street and in-person reading support in schools. But during Covid, they couldn’t connect in person with their clients as everyone was stuck working from home. Marla Ilo, the VLC Administrator, was concerned about seniors in the community who were isolated and all the kids who were not in school. So she developed an Intergenerational Pen Pal Club to help these groups connect even while they were staying safe at home.
The club was an immediate success. Although it began as a way to connect seniors and kids through letter writing, more and more people wanted to join. As funding for the club has grown, the club has expanded and become more inclusive, with people of all ages now sharing letters.
The Pen Pal Club is a safe way to build connections between the generations. Open to anyone aged 10 to 110 (or slightly younger and slightly older), pen pals are matched up with folks at least 20 years apart in age. They can exchange letters, postcards or even emails, share their stories and experiences and build connection between the generations. All volunteers are vetted by the VLC to ensure participants are safe in making these letter-based connections.
A Club in Need of Postage? We Can Help!
A feature of the Pen Pal Club is that all materials are supplied by the VLC, including postage for the letters and postcards. As the club grows, this can become a major cost.
Luckily, one thing we have as a stamp club is postage. Over the past several months, Bill Bartlett, manager of the donations coming to the club via the Wellburn Foundation, has been supplying mint postage to the Pen Pal Club. Bill has affixed donated postage to hundreds of envelopes so they are ready for pen pals to use, navigating odd denominations and postal rate increases to ensure the mail gets delivered without issue.
Bill has also been keeping the kids who use VLC programs happy with Wellburn Stamp Packs and a Discovery Bin of loose stamps for folks to sort through at the Literacy Connection office.
Spreading the Word
This month, the Greater Victoria Literacy Alliance is having a Literacy Celebration at Hillside Mall from February 17 – 23, and the Victoria Stamp Club is helping there, too. Marla and team have made hundreds of Literacy Packs to give away to kids visiting their event and each pack contains a special stamp packet made by Bill and his cadre of volunteers.
Get Involved
The Victoria Literacy Connection is only able to do their great work through the generous contributions of funders and volunteers. You can donate to the VLC on their website, or if you’d like to volunteer with the Pen Pal club or another program, reach out to Marla Ilo directly.
They are also looking for two working typewriters to build a letter writing station in their office. So if you have one to donate, please contact Marla.