Queen's code

promoting every child's right to read

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QCODE is the first University chapter of CODE operating at Queen's University. We focus on raising funds and awareness to help youth in developing communities pursue education by increasing their access to high-quality educators and learning materials.

WHAT IS CODE?

CODE envisions a world where every young person can pursue their education and realize their full potential as a literate, empowered, self-reliant citizen.

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meet the team

QCODE's executive team consists of open-minded and passionate change-makers in the Queen's community. These undergraduate students are dedicated to providing culturally-relevant education to all

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What is qcode?

CODE started in 1959 with a small group of educators with the common goal of promoting every child’s right to read. They believe that literacy is the key to unlocking every child's potential and they try to advocate for the ability for each child to reach their full potential in this way by increasing access to qualified educators and locally and culturally relevant high qualified learning materials.

They have had huge successes with nearly 600 000 children benefiting from their teachers and librarians in 2017/2018 alone. They have also opened nearly 2000 libraries. CODE has expanded its works around the world including places like Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Mozambique and are now rated in the top 100 charities. They strongly value human rights, accountability, transparency, and sustainability which is part of the reason we are so excited to be representing them this year.

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MEET THE TEAM

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COVID-19 RESOURCES

Ontario Government Info
Learn what financial, mental health and other supports are available during COVID-19 including financial support, support for children and youths, emergency shelters, mental health and addiction support, senior support, and other support services.

Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique concerns and hardships for students and their broader communities. The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance has compiled a list of several supports and resources available to help students as they transition through this difficult time.

FoodBanks Canada
Food Banks Canada is a national charitable organization dedicated to helping Canadians living with food insecurity. We support a network of Provincial Associations, affiliate food banks, and food agencies that work at the community level to relieve hunger. Our work is focused on maximizing collective impact, strengthening local capacity, and reducing the need for food banks.

Canada Helps.org
For more than 20 years, CanadaHelps has been the trusted charity, informing, inspiring and connecting charities and donors, with the causes they care about. We have facilitated over $1 billion in giving.

Canadian Red Cross
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) continues to spread globally and is now declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. Red Cross/Red Crescents around the world have been actively preparing for and responding to COVID-19.

Canadian Mental Health Association
A pandemic is a very stressful event for individuals and communities. It’s normal to feel some stress and anxiety. It’s also very common for people to display great resiliency during times of crisis. We should remember that this is absolutely the time to lean on each other. Even if we can’t be close physically, we need to stay close emotionally. So, while you’re staying in, stay in touch with each other, and reach out if you need support. CMHA has put together some resources and suggestions to help support your mental health at this time of uncertainty.

Medicine Hat Women's Shelter Society
The Medicine Hat Women's Shelter Society supports individuals impacted by family violence by providing them with safe shelter, education, advocacy and access to community resources. We are committed to social change by providing programs and services that promote treating all people with respect and dignity.

United Way Canada
When COVID-19 arrived, United Way Centraide Canada and our local members leapt into action. We knew the most vulnerable people across our country would be hit the hardest, so we immediately began advocating on behalf of local service agencies that support them. We reached out to our partners, stakeholders, and government funders to find solutions to new problems and offer support to those who need it most

ShelterSafe
Women’s shelters and transition houses are open during the COVID-19 pandemic to protect women and children fleeing violence. If you or someone you know needs help or wants to speak to a shelter worker, you can find your closest women’s shelter and their crisis line on this website, sheltersafe.local. Remember that you can get advice and safety planning through their crisis line without moving into the shelter.

Red Door Shelter
Since 1982, the Red Door Family Shelter has provided emergency shelter and support for women and children affected by domestic abuse, families experiencing a housing crisis, and refugee claimants with nowhere else to turn. In the early 80's there was only one other shelter operating in Toronto. Responding to the growing need for shelter space for homeless families, the Red Door was opened in the basement of the WoodGreen United Church by a group of volunteers.
Starting a new school year during a pandemic is a challenging experience. However, students should remember they can access many resources for learning remotely, financial aid, health and well-being.

Kelowna Women's Shelter
Since 1980, the Central Okanagan Emergency Shelter Society (operated as the Kelowna Women’s Shelter) has offered safe emergency accommodation and essentials such as food, clothing, and toiletries for women and their children who have experienced domestic violence. Serving women in need from Oyama to Peachland, we also provide ongoing individual and group domestic abuse support, planning and transportation assistance, advocacy and outreach, and preventive education programs for both women and children, all at no cost. All Kelowna Women’s Shelter services, programs, and supports are free, confidential, and available 24/7. The Shelter is a member of the British Columbia Society of Transition Houses, Ending Violence Association of British Columbia, Shelter Net BC, and Women's Shelters Canada.

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ADDRESSING BARRIERS TO EDUCATION

Pathways to Education
Pathways to Education provide youth from low-income communities with the resources they need to graduate from high school and break the cycle of poverty.

Canada Helps.org
For more than 20 years, CanadaHelps has been the trusted charity, informing, inspiring and connecting charities and donors, with the causes they care about. We have facilitated over $1 billion in giving.

Academic Accomodations and Systemic Bariers (INFORMATIVE)
The Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code) guarantees the right to equal treatment in education, without discrimination based on disability.

Read On Canada!
Canadian Children's Literacy Foundation is a group of reading advocates and food bank partners from across the country, working to get books and reading resources to children. They are distributing books in communities across Canada through food banks this summer.

ABC Life Literacy Canada
ABC Life Literacy Canada is a non-profit organization that aims to strengthen organizations that promote adult learning. They develop and support the use of high-quality introductory learning materials and resources written in clear language.

Calgary Reads
By providing children with all the essentials to become enthusiastic readers—their very own books, strong reading role models and spaces that nurture a love of reading—Calgary Reads is building a thriving community and putting children on a path to success.

First Book Canada
First Book Canada’s mission is to transform the lives of children in need by improving access to educational opportunities. Through a market-driven model, First Book Canada is creating equal access to quality education — making everything from brand new, high-quality books and educational resources, to winter coats, backpacks, and more – affordable to its member network of more than 10,000 educators who exclusively serve kids in need.

Imagination Library
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting books free of charge to children from birth to age five, through funding shared by Dolly Parton and local community partners in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Republic of Ireland.

Frontier College
Frontier College is a national charitable literacy organization. They believe literacy is a right. They work with volunteers and community partners to give people the skills and confidence they need to reach their potential and contribute to society.

Let's Talk Science
Let’s Talk Science supports the development of all youth into creative, critical thinkers and knowledgeable citizens who are prepared to participate and thrive in a complex global environment.

Children's Book Bank
The Children’s Book Bank was founded by a small group of dedicated individuals who saw the importance of ensuring that all children have access to books. Since 2008, the Book Bank has grown and reached more families as a result of the generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations who have donated funds, books and their time.

Indigo Love of Reading Foundation
The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation is on a mission to change children’s lives by providing books to communities across Canada. Throughout COVID-19, the Foundation kept kids reading in 170 high-needs communities by donating 140,000+ books to children and families.

Queen's Bloom
BLOOM is a student-run initiative with a mission to increase mental health literacy among youth in our communities. They are based out of Queen's University in Kingston, ON, and aim to promote positive mental health among students, both at the university and in surrounding public schools.

The Danger of a Single Story - TedTalk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child's Bookshelf - TedTalk by Grace Lin
What your child reads sets the path for their own self-worth as well as how they see others. Grace Lin is a children's book author/illustrator whose book, “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon,” received the Newbery Book Honor. She shows how the books that are not on your child's bookshelf are just as important as those that are.

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Black Lives matter

DONATION LINKS

Black Lives Matter
Your support will help us dismantle all forms of anti-Black racism, liberate Blackness, support Black healing, affirm Black existence and create freedom to love and self-determine.

Black Vision
Founded and led by Black queer and trans people with a commitment to shared leadership, shared resources and self determination; Black Visions is not your typical community org. Whether we are immigrants, US born, transplants to the city or lifelong residents, we all experience the harm of police violence, poverty, anti-Blackness and xenophobia. It is our collective experience as survivors of violence and our belief that a different, more abundant future for our city is possible that brought us together and continues to drive our work

Reclaim the Block
Reclaim the Block began in 2018 and organizes Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that truly promote community health and safety. We believe health, safety and resiliency exist without police of any kind. We organize around policies that strengthen community-led safety initiatives and reduce reliance on police departments.

NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans. LDF also defends the gains and protections won over the past 80 years of civil rights struggle and works to improve the quality and diversity of judicial and executive appointments.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
The ACLU has been at the center of nearly every major civil liberties battle in the U.S. for over 100 years. This vital work depends on the support of ACLU members in all 50 states and beyond.

Know Your Rights Camp
Freedom Fighters have taken to our streets to express ourselves over the unjust murders of Black and Brown people. The Know Your Rights Camp Legal Defense Initiative has identified and teamed up with top lawyers nationwide to provide legal resources for those in need.

READING LIST

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race
Reni Eddo-Lodge

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Bryan Stevenson

So You Want To Talk About Race?
Ijeoma Oluo

Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor
Layla F Saad

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Michelle Alexander

The Third Reconstruction
Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics, and the Rise of A New Justice Movement
William J. Barber

Colorizing Restorative Justice: Voicing Our Realities
Edward Charles Valandra

Racism and Anti-racism in Canada
David Este, Liza Lorenzetti, Christa Sato