Honda is a proud sponser of ABC Canada's Family Literacy Day. ABC CANADA has created bilingual awareness tools to help literacy groups celebrate Family Literacy Day.

Here's what ABC CANADA had to say to Mr. John Brushett of Moncton Honda.



Dear Mr. Brushett,

On behalf of ABC CANADA, I want to thank you for your generous support of Family Literacy in Canada. During the past year, your donations of $20 for each 1999 Honda Odyssey sold, has resulted in a donation of $240,000 to the literacy cause in Canada. When this is combined with Honda Canada's support for the production of "Penny's Odyssey", shown on CTV last January, and the creation of Family Literacy Day materials for local literacy groups, the total donation from Honda to Family Literacy in Canada, has been over half a million dollars.

In addition to your financial support of Family Literacy, every Honda Space Odyssey Travel Kit, given to new Odyssey purchasers, has put family literacy materials directly into the hands of parents and children, who can then turn family travel into a family learning experience.

Your support of the literacy cause has been reported on television, radio, in magazines and newspapers across the country since last January. Most recently, Honda's support has been noted in "Literacy Matters", and insert in the September issue of Saturday Night magazine.

Studies produced by the Canadian Centre of Philanthropy demonstrate that Canadian consumers value corporations who support the communities in which they live. You can by proud that Honda is such a corporation.

Sincerely,
Christine A. Featherstone
Executive Director, ABC CANADA

Honda Dealers Support Literacy
(Toronto: ) Today, representatives of Honda automobile dealers presented ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation with a cheque for $ 240,000 in support of family literacy.

To raise the funds, ABC CANADA worked with Honda to create the "Honda Space Odyssey Travel Kit," which was given to purchasers of the all-new 1999 Odyssey minivan. Honda dealers donated $20 to family literacy for every Odyssey van sold. All 205 Canadian Honda dealers participated in this campaign.

The space Odyssey Travel Kit is designed for children aged four and up. It contains games, books, and other activities that help children and their parents learn together. Available in English and French, this innovative kit turns travel into a fun learning experience and promotes awareness of the value of family literacy and education.

This year marked the inaugural Family Literacy Day in Canada on January 27th, 1999. Literacy groups across Canada organized hundreds of local community initiatives, which touched thousands of Canadian families.

"Learning is a lifelong journey and there is no better place to begin than at home with your family," said Jim Miller, Senior Vice-President, Honda Corporate Affairs. "We are pleased to support this worthy cause and delighted that our dealers share this commitment by helping Canadian families in their own communities."

"We are thrilled to see such exemplary commitment from Honda," said Maureen Cavan, the chair of ABC CANADA's board of directors. "The funds raised by Honda dealers will make a real difference for family literacy programs in communities across Canada."

The funds will support a range of projects that promote oral language development in babies and toddlers, or that are targeted at young parents unable to attend regular high school classes. All these programs stress that parents and children read, play and learn together.

Family Literacy Day will by celebrated again on January 27th, 2000-check the ABC CANADA website for more information (www.abc-canada.org).

ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation is a national registered charitable organization committed to promoting literacy to the general public and to the private sector. ABC CANADA creates national public awareness campaigns, provides fundraising and promotional support to local literacy groups and conducts research to further the development of a fully literate Canadian population.

For more information, please contact:
Christine Featherstone, Executive Director, ABC CANADA
Tel: 416-350-6270
E-mail: cfeatherstone@corporate.southam.ca