A soon-to-be-released children’s book aimed at raising money for local charities will give youth a glimpse into the many different jobs and roles there are in Sarnia-Lambton.
Noelle’s Gift and the Hashtag Charitable Foundation (#charitable) are joining forces to release the as-yet-untitled book, which will be designed to allow young readers to explore a variety of businesses and organizations within the county and let them learn about how they support the community.
Readers will find out about real people living and working in their own community, whether it be the stories of local dental and healthcare workers, a day in the life of people who work in a union house or the everyday experiences of those in the non- profit sector
Hashtag Charitable Foundation’s Rich Bouchard said that the two agencies are currently looking for businesses and organizations to sponsor the project. Those who donate will find themselves part of the story.
The idea to release a children’s book originated several years ago, Bouchard said.
“This was an idea I had approached Noelle’s Gift with a few years ago, actually, in 2019. It was on one of the burners, but when 2020 hit, it took the book off the table, but it seemed like an idea we should resurrect again,” he said.
“We’d been doing all this work with #local and the Year of Local books over the last five years, so we’re always trying to come up with new ideas to promote and support local,” he continued. “The idea for a kid’s book came from a book that I had when I was a kid, it’s been kicking around in our family for years and it ended up in our house. We’ve read the book – (Tibor Gergerly’s) Busy Day, Busy People – to our nine-year-old a billion times, and the concept is looking at all of these different people and how they support the community, whether it’s a doctor or a baker. And the story explains to children what people do for their home and I thought we could make a local version of this, where we can highlight local businesses and industries and organizations.”
Not only will the book give children a chance to learn about the many services that local businesses offer, but it might also give them ideas in terms of what careers they might pursue in the future.
“I think we can use this as an opportunity to highlight some professions that maybe kids aren’t thinking about.”
Sponsorships range from $2,500 to $10,000, and so far the response has been overwhelmingly positive, Bouchard said.
“We’re really excited about it – we just kind of started approaching sponsors and it’s been well-received so far,” he said. “We’ve got a number of organizations going through their own processes…but we’re looking forward to reconnecting with them within the next few weeks.”
Once enough sponsors get on board, the book will be written with the help of a local artist/illustrator as well as a writer. Sponsors will be mentioned by name and illustrations will be made of the owners and/or employees of the business/organization, focusing on the many ways that children can grow up to be a smash hit for their community, Bouchard said.
Noelle’s Gift and #charitable will donate 5,000 books to the public and catholic school boards, and proceeds from the books will go towards supporting Noelle’s Gift programs and the philanthropic activities of the Hashtag Charitable Foundation.
“We are excited to once again be partnering with #charitable,” said Noelle’s Gift’s Lynn Paquette. “Supporting children is at the heart of all that we do, and inspiring them is an important part of that. Creating a children’s book has been a project we’ve discussed for many years and we are excited to get it into motion.”
“Local businesses are the backbone of this community and this is a unique way for them to share their community spirit,” Bouchard said. “We wanted to use this opportunity to inspire kids and their families with a love for the community and teach them about the people and organizations that help make it special.”
Bouchard said the plan is to get the book out and into the hands of kids by the end of the 2022.
“Our goal is to get it out by the end of the year, but like most things the printing industry is a bit wonky right now, so we’re trying to work our way through that – our goal is to get it out by the end of the year, and we’ll see how that shakes out,” Bouchard said.
“It’s just a unique way for a business or organization to get their message out there, to reaffirm what they do for the community,” he added. “We thought it was a good idea a few years ago, and we’re thrilled everyone is enthusiastic to do it again. We want to make it a unique and compelling story for kids at the end of the day.”
Businesses and organizations interested in participating in the book project can contact #charitable at [email protected].