Learn About Foundations Learning

Cathlin Berndt, the Communications and Event Coordinator at Foundations Learning, took the time to share a bit about what they’re up to these days. 

Can you share with us your vision and mandate?

Our vision is for all Saskatchewan communities and individuals to have equitable access to quality learning opportunities so everyone can fully participate and thrive. Our mission is to provide foundational literacy, learning, and skills development for adults and children through the work of staff, trained volunteers, and community partners.

We work toward education equity with a commitment to Indigenous peoples through community literacy programming. We pay special attention to TRC calls to action, 7, 10, and 12, and our work is guided by the needs of the program participant and community and engages volunteers.

How has your organization changed over the years? 

Foundations Learning & Skills Saskatchewan (Foundations Learning) has been around since 1979, where free Adult Tutoring was our flagship program. There have been a lot of changes since then. In 1997 we added Family Literacy programs, in 2012 we started offering Financial Literacy workshops, and in 2017 we started our Children’s Literacy program. 

In May of 2022 we changed our name from READ Saskatoon to Foundations Learning and Skills Saskatchewan, as we felt we needed a name that reflected both our provincial scope, and the variety of literacy supports that we offer.

What kinds of programming do you currently offer and for whom?

We offer free adult, family, children’s, and financial literacy programs, as well as literacy facilitator training and resources. Our programs are strength-based, meaning that all people bring their specific assets and strengths with them, and those are the starting point to effective learning.​ Children’s Literacy is the Spark program, which is a school-based program that works with children in grades 2-4 who are reading below grade level. The goal of the program is to raise their reading level to grade level.

Our Adult Literacy program is called Lead. Adults access our tutoring program to improve their literacy and/or numeracy skills for employment, employment-focused education, and/or personal self-identified goals. Family Literacy has programming for preschool-aged children and their parents/caregivers. These programs are run throughout the community. Family programs also include the school-based events Payday Playday, Saskatchewan Odyssey, and Stories and Stepping Stones.

Financial Literacy runs workshops in partnership with community organizations, as well as free public workshops. Topics include budgeting, banking, credit and debt repayment, tax basics, assets, consumerism, fraud and scams, and RESP info sessions.

We also offer workplace workshops, such as Plain Language, and Workplace Writing Workshop series. Our literacy programs are delivered by 19 staff and 257 trained volunteers who contribute 46,774 hours annually (the equivalent of 24 extra full-time staff).

What has Foundations Learning been up to over the summer?

This summer has been full of prepping for the upcoming programming year. Our Family Literacy team has been busy making and assembling our Stories and Stepping Stones early years event kits for Regina Public School Division. They have also been running programs in the community, such as Eensy Weensy Rhymers at the Food Bank Garden Patch, and 1, 2 Buckle My Shoe at the Family Resource Centre. Our Financial Literacy team has been facilitating workshops for community organizations about banking, budgeting, RESP information sessions, and doing one-on-one financial coaching. Our Spark team has been in full swing with our summer spark term, with many of our staff members participating as Reading Guides. Our Adult Literacy team has continued to do learner intakes and support learners and coaches on their learning journeys.

What’s been your biggest success this year so far?

Our growth in volunteers has been amazing. We live in such a caring province where people want to help and want to get involved. Volunteers directly see the impact of their contribution.

What has been your biggest challenge?

In Saskatchewan, 33% (1/3) people struggle with literacy daily. Foundations Learning exists because of our province’s long history of education inequity. Demand for our services has surged, with a 240% increase in requests from communities outside Saskatoon and a 338% rise in program participants over the past three years. This just means that as we grow to help meet the needs of the province, we need our supports to grow alongside us. We can’t do our work without volunteers and literacy champions who are helping to turn this statistic around. And while numbers tell the story, behind each figure lies a person who has been impacted. 

As a community, we need to understand the challenges of learning and why they exist; learning is not something we can or can’t do, it is something we must learn. We must learn HOW to learn. The adults and children we work with have many skills and strengths. We believe that potential is evenly distributed, unfortunately our work has shown us that opportunity is not.

What kind of funding and other financial support do you receive? 

We self-generate 31% of our funding through fundraisers (Golf Tournament for Literacy, LIT UP!, and We Are Story, as well as through our annual holiday campaign) and through local sponsors and individual donors. 12% of our annual budget comes from the province, and we rely on grants for 57% of our funding. ​

How can folks best lend a hand? 

There are plenty of ways to support learning and skills development in our community. Whether you’re interested in volunteering your time, donating books, becoming a monthly donor, or helping to organize events, every contribution makes a difference. Volunteers are the most valuable resource in our work. We provide training and support for all volunteers and work hard to ensure everyone, learners and volunteers alike, feel like a part of the team. All volunteers begin their journey by attending a one-hour agency orientation. These are held monthly from August – May. You can register by visiting our website or calling our office.

Your support can help transform lives!