When the Little Voice team set out to create Little Voice Books they knew they wanted to create a business that would publish unique children’s books and serve as a platform to give back.
And so, they decided to create a social enterprise.
A Social Enterprise is defined as “an organization that advances or fulfills a social purpose through a business model or revenue-generating component of their operations”. This dual purpose supports not only the growth of the organization but also the growth of the communities it serves.
Little Voice’s mission and vision was founded in this very definition: to create awareness for causes and initiatives through the power of literature and illustration and to support the programs and services that serve to make a difference in our communities through the sale of our books.
A special blog post from Little Voice’s illustrator Samantha Clusiau-Lawlor.
Did you know that eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness? Coming from someone who has suffered from one, I am saddened by this statistic but not surprised.
My own journey with an eating disorder, which you can read about here, left me depleted, emotionally unstable and trapped for years. In 2016, I managed to seek recovery for the first time. Through therapy, coping techniques and various resources, I am proud to say that I have been able to stay on the recovery path. I had to gain much needed weight but more importantly, had to work on the emotional side of things in order to find food freedom, and self-love.
Little Voice is very excited to be supporting this year’s Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign (GCWCC) through our movement!
The Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign (GCWCC) is a charitable giving option developed exclusively for federal public servants and federal retirees. The annual GCWCC takes place in federal workplaces across the country during the fall campaign period (September to December).
Through the GCWCC, public servants can support United Ways/Centraides, HealthPartners or any other registered Canadian charity of their choosing. United Way, a trusted community partner with a history of making wise investments, manages the campaign on behalf of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
From October 4, 2016 to December 5, 2016, the GCWCC Movement will run using the coupon code “gcwcc”.
With every purchase of Little Voice using this code, Little Voice will donate $5 dollars from each book sale to this year’s campaign. Get involved by sharing our shop link and the movement code with your work, friends, family and even social media!
For those working in the Gatineau area, the coupon code will also enable free shipping for pick-up at 30 Rue Victoria, Gatineau, Quebec.
Order your copy of Little Voice today and see how the power of our movement can support amazing causes in our community.
After almost one year in the making … here we are. Today, Little Voice is extremely excited to introduce to the world for the very first time …
The Little Voice Movement
In December 2014, the Little Voice team set out to create a children’s book we hoped would inspire all those who would read it. We wanted to not only develop a book that would encourage children to listen to their inner voice and chase their dreams, but also a platform that would enable us to give back in our community.
After launching the Little Voice book, we succesfully created the Little Voice Forget Me Not Project, a project that allowed us to use our platform to donate a portion of every book sale to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. To date, Little Voice has raised close to $7,000 dollars in honour of Amanda’s grandmother Teresina Bernardo, and has been recognized by eTALK Canada and Starbucks Canada for our fundraising movement.
In addition to the Little Voice Forget Me Not Project, Little Voice has worked closely with a number of community initiatives, supporting local schools, charities and not-for-profits … but we wanted to do more.
If we could create a movement and fundraise close to $7,000 dollars, what was stopping us from supporting others within our community to do the same.
Today, Little Voice is pleased to launch our official movement: The Little Voice Ambassador Program that will enable Canadians across Canada, children and adults alike, to start their own movement under one of three platforms: 1) For your school; 2) For your Community; or 3) For your Future.
By creating a movement under our first platform, teachers and parents can fundraise on behalf of their school. By creating a movement for your community, people can fundraise on behalf of a local charity, cause, individual or group in need. By creating a movement under our last platform, a parent or child can fundraise using the Little Voice Ambassador Program to support a child’s future education with a donation to their Registered Educations Savings Plan (RESP).
There is no age limit, no time limit and no cost to join, simply a desire to make a difference in your community, school, or future!
With every movement, Little Voice will donate $5 from every book sale to the Ambassador’s cause. Registered Ambassadors will receive a coupon code that will track sales through our website and enable us to donate back to their movement. In turn, Little Voice continues to donate a portion of every book sale to the Alzheimer Society while supporting many more movements across Canada.
As we launch our movement today, we are very excited to have a number of movements already underway! Visit our Registered Movements page to learn about our first movements with CHEO, Proud to Be Me, the Alzheimer Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County, #RosalinaStrong, the Half Moon Bay Public School and more!
Be sure to catch Little Voice on CTV Ottawa Morning Live this morning at 9:20am, at noon with UpFront Ottawa and this evening from 7:00 to 8:00pm on Twitter, using the hashtag #wethelittle, and Facebook, on our event page, for a live chat where we will answer all your questions about our movement, our book and our journey.
A BIG thank you to everyone who has continued to support our message and vision.
By working together, we hope the Little Voice Movement will grow to not only impact our local community here in Ottawa, but also communities across Canada.
There is no age limit, no time limit and no cost to join, simply a desire to make a difference in your community, school, or future!