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Never too old to work on literacy skills

Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett is a huge advocate for raising awareness about literacy

Literacy opens doors to so many opportunities for people and is an invaluable skill to learn in life.

I'm a huge advocate for raising awareness about literacy and how it can improve the quality of a person's life. We are encouraged and taught the basics in school, but where does the learning really begin? It starts at home.

National Family Literacy Day (ABC Life Literacy) falls on Jan. 27 and it’s dedicated to improving awareness and increasing supports for literacy. The theme is one I believe in - that parents are a child's first and most important teacher when it comes to literacy.

And something to keep in mind is that it's never too late to start reading or improving your literacy. There are many community courses and library supports to help people learn new skills and grow.

Literacy and learning can help strengthen families and strong families mean strong communities. So I encourage everyone to pick up a book, magazine or newspaper and take some time to read each day or learn something new about literacy.

They say practice makes perfect, so get practicing. You'll be happy you did.

Donna Barnett is the Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA.