Rod Mulligan is a member at large of the Advisory Committee for Literacy Now. Born and raised in Stoney Mountain, Manitoba, Rod also lived in the Lower Mainland before moving to Prince George 35 years ago. Rod and his wife Barb have been married for 37 years and have three adult children, Geoff, Rob and Paul.
Rod was previously a tutor for the Volunteer Adult Literacy Tutoring program at the College of New Caledonia and wanted to continue to work with literacy initiatives in the city. He says that he loves to work with people one-on-one and see the light in their eyes when they start to understand what they’re reading.
The mission of Literacy Now is to promote literacy and make it more accessible to people in need. The organization has a Regional Literacy Coordinator, Rebecca Beuschel, who is based out of Quesnel and oversees and coordinates literacy events across Northern British Columbia. It can be challenging due to the huge geographic area covered. Literacy Now sometimes meets at the Centre for Learning Alternatives on 2nd Avenue in Prince George.
The next meeting is October 22 at 11am at the Centre for Learning Alternatives and is open to interested members of the public. People can get involved by calling the Prince George Public Library, getting in touch with Volunteer Prince George or the Friendship Centre to volunteer.
On September 29, former NHL Head Coach and Stanley Cup Champion Jacques Demers will be speaking about his struggles throughout his life and career with low literacy. Despite being functionally illiterate, Demers achieved a successful career as a coach, general manager and TV commentator. His admission has been an important step to help bring literacy issues to the forefront of the public eye. Demers will speak at 2pm in the Kin Arenas Atrium adjacent to the CN Centre.
