Golfers at Sherwood Park’s Broadmoor Public Golf Course on Wednesday helped raise money for a local family literacy program. For 16 years, the Links Fore Literacy Golf Tournament has supported programming provided by the Centre for Family Literacy. Throughout the golf course, participants learn literacy facts and participate in extra activities like a putting challenge. “It’s really important to us to support literacy for kids and making sure that everybody has an ability to read,” said Lisa Oliver, an employee at PCL Construction, one of the tournament’s sponsors. According to the Centre for Family Literacy, 45 per cent of Albertans struggle with literacy in some way. “When adults come with their children, we’re working with the adults to learn how to support their children’s development. And if they have little literacy of their own, they also learn and work in parallel with their kids,” said executive director Kimberley Chung. “It becomes a daily activity for them, and that spreads to the community too because they get more involved in their community.” The golf tournament is the agency’s largest fundraiser. Over 15 years, the tournament has raised nearly $700,000. Chung said, “There’s a lot of barriers for people in other ways, especially if you have low literacy. This is just a way for us to help out and get them to what they want to do in their lives.” With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Darcy Seaton
