Help support Wordfest’s extensive youth engagement, including our Indigenous Youth Program, which connects leading Indigenous authors for free to junior and senior high school students. Last year, we were able to present 23 authors – including Cherie Dimaline, Jesse Thistle, Humble the Poet and Emma Donoghue – to 11,386 students at no charge to schools who qualify for complimentary programming.

We are working actively with schools and teachers to see how Wordfest can support students in this difficult time and help make life-changing connections with authors from a safe distance. Thank you for your generosity.

Over the past decade, Wordfest’s Youth Program has connected more than 100,000 students with the world’s most inspiring speakers and authors, including Olympic Gold Medalist & social justice activist Mark Tewksbury, NASA astronaut Dave Williams and Governor General Award-winning graphic duo Mariko and Jillian Tamaki, Instagram poet Najwa Zebian, and Indigenous advocates Cherie Dimaline, Bob Joseph, Wab Kinew and Jesse Thistle.

But not every school can afford our superstar authors and that’s not fair. Our 2020 goal is to subsidize these life-changing experiences and make sure that every participating school library receives two copies of each author’s books.

Your contribution to Wordfest’s Youth Program will fuel these unique opportunities for kids in Grades 5 to 12, a pivotal (and under-served) time in their development. With respect. With excitement. With openness. With empathy. With the goods.

Shelley Youngblut CEO & Creative Ringleader “Connecting Calgarians with Life-Changing Experiences”