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Looking Back on 2016

We can’t believe another year has come and gone.

2016 has been an amazing year for Little Voice and we couldn’t have done it without you!

Each year, Little Voice sets a number of goals that will enable us to plan for the future and make a difference in our community! This past year, Little Voice aimed to increase our outreach, launch our movement, and increase our donations to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. Here’s a look back at 2016 and how we managed to reach our goals:

Outreach

Thanks to our community, Little Voice was able to increase our outreach efforts through a number of media outlets:

We were also able to meet many more of our readers at a number of our local Indigo, Chapters and Coles events:

Meeting our readers in person has always been a great opportunity for us to answer your questions and see the impact our book has had in your homes and schools. We hope to put on many more events this upcoming year and to meet many more of you at our local events.

The Little Voice Movement

This past Summer, Little Voice launched our official movement. The movement was our way to give back, not only to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, but to all those searching for a way to fundraise in their communities.

Thanks to CTV and Upfront Ottawa, we were able to share our movement with all of you:

By registering to become an Little Voice Ambassador, you can create your own inspirational movement in your community. Whether you choose to support your school, an important cause, or your future, Little Voice will donate $5 dollars from every book sale you’ve made to support your movement.

You can learn more about our movement on our website and sign-up today … for free!

The Forget Me Not Project

Every year, since publishing Little Voice, we have challenged ourselves to grow our donations to the Alzheimer Society of Canada through the Forget Me Not Project. By participating in the Walk for Alzheimers, Little Voice has been able to work with our local Alzheimer Society chapter and with YOU to fundraise in support of Alzheimer’s research, programs and services! This past year, through your generosity, Little Voice was able to raise $1, 875 dollars.

Little Voice was also very proud to put on the Dream Big Dream, Girl Luncheon that successfully raised $2,000 dollars in support of the Alzheimer Society. Together, we were able to not only get together and feel inspired, but we were also able to empower the next generation of dreamers to make a difference in their own communities.

A BIG thank you to all those who attended and to our guest speakers, sponsors and the Dream, Girl film, which made the event possible!

The New Year is an amazing opportunity to look back on all the little moments that made up the sum of our entire year. It’s a chance to be grateful for all the positivity that came in to your life, to examine where you can grow, and to challenge yourself to reach new heights in the year ahead.

For Little Voice, a new year is an opportunity for us to set new goals that will allow us to reach more readers and support many more causes. It’s an opportunity to say thank you for believing in our message and vision and sharing our book with your students, children, family and friends.

But more importantly, it is a perfect reminder for each and every one of us to listen to our little voice and to not let another year go by where we ignore it.

We wish you all a very Happy New Year and cannot wait to share what we have planned for 2017 with all of you!

Happy 2nd Birthday Little Voice!

There is something about birthdays that forces us to look back on the year that has passed. It’s an opportunity for us to cherish the memories we gained, the friendships we created, and the work we have accomplished. For Little Voice, turning two is an opportunity to do just that.

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It’s amazing to see how far Little Voice has come. This past year, Little Voice proved to our community that we are not only a children’s book but a movement that is determined to make a difference. Our official launch of our movement was an extraordinary moment for us; it was a chance to share with the world not only our story but the vision that makes Little Voice the social enterprise that it is. We made it clear that with our profits we wanted to do good in the world, whether that be through supporting a charitable cause, a community initiative or a child’s education. We wanted to inspire the next generation to be advocates for causes they believe in and to enable them to fundraise and give back wherever possible. We wanted to empower the little voice inside each and every one of you that will enable you to chase your dreams and make a difference in this world.

These past two years have been nothing short of amazing. We’ve been extremely blessed to have your support day in and day out in all that we do. We’ve made friends, we’ve made readers, and, more importantly, we made believers out of all of you. We made you believe in yourself once more, in your passions, in your talents, and in the dreams that perhaps you slowly forgot.

new-version-of-lvI’ll never forget the feeling I had after seeing Little Voice come to life for the first time. After hiding my writing for so long, and from so many, I was finally ready to share my writing with the world. While it was the most amazing feeling to see my dream come to life, it was also one of the most scariest moments of my life. For a lot of people, it can sometimes be quite frightening to share their true passion, what inspires them, or who they truly are. This was certainly true for me. I was scared of what people may think of my work, and was almost hesitant at first to take on this adventure. But Little Voice made me a believer in myself, it taught me to never give up and to chase my dream of becoming an author. In the same way that Little Voice awakened my dreams, I hope these past two years it has been able to awaken something inside you too.
– Amanda Bernardo, Author

Today, as we celebrate Little Voice’s second birthday, we also want to celebrate the little voice inside each and every one of you. Because of that voice, so many of you are doing so much good in this world and that is what we at Little Voice hope to continue to inspire you to do  each and every year.

Happy Birthday Little Voice!

Please join us on Saturday, December 3rd at the Gloucester Chapters location in Ottawa as we celebrate Little Voice’s birthday!

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See how you can fundraise $15, 000 in one month!

By now, you’ve heard about the Little Voice Movement and the potential it has to make a difference in your school, community, or child’s future.

With many teachers getting ready for back to school, a lot of our social media has been flooded with stories on how teachers go above and beyond to support their classrooms by purchasing supplies, books, materials, etc…

Little Voice is lucky to know many teachers across Canada and so, we know how many of our teachers pay for many of their classroom supplies out of pocket. Our Little Voice movement was launched with these teachers in mind.

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Introducing Grace Lachance to the DREAM BIG Team

Little Voice is extremely excited and honoured to announce our closing artist for the Dream Big Dream, Girl Inspirational Luncheon:

Grace Lachance

From Stittsville, Ontario, Grace Lachance is a 15-year-old singer-songwriter.  Since her debut performance at the age of 10, Grace has stood on stages from Ottawa to Montreal and Toronto.

In 2015, Grace was the winner of Bluesfest’s nationwide contest “She’s The One”. She’s been actively performing around the city and working in the studio for her upcoming release.

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2015: Making the Little Moments Count

2015 was definitely a game changer

Little Voice was first thought up in 2013, published in late 2014 and a movement by 2015. 2015 was the year we officially launched our story, our movement and our fundraising efforts. It’s the year where everything slowly began to take shape.

It all started with a major push right here in our community. Though I’ve always had a entrepreneurial bug within me, this was my first time setting out and branding an entire movement, managing an entire production, and ultimately publishing a story. I didn’t always know what direction I would take; I didn’t always get the answers I wanted; but I never ever gave up. I trusted my own little voice to guide me and sure enough, every little step I took proved to be one step closer in the right direction.

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If not now, when?

Did you know that 2 years ago, in the month of October, Little Voice was born on a scrap piece of paper? It was tucked away for safekeeping until author Amanda’s own inner voice inspired her to publish her work!

Almost a year later, Little Voice was born on December 2, 2014.

It is incredible to think how far we’ve come in such a short amount of time!

Eight  months later, we returned to the drawing board to expand our audience and bring to you La petite voix. Now, with our story available in English and French, our movement continues to grow and inspire others to listen to their little voice, as Amanda did so long ago.

Within the pages of our book, our story can teach you many things. Our message can encourage you to be proud of who you are; to be strong, courageous and bold; to believe in yourself when all else fails; and to chase your dreams no matter what obstacles stand in the way.

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Happy Thanksgiving 2015

The month of October always reminds me of when I first set out to publish Little Voice.

Two years ago, I was looking for the inspiration and motivation to set me on the path I am now fortunate enough to be on today. I never would have imagined that I would have transformed the same inspirational poem that got me chasing my dreams into a children’s book that would encourage others to chase their own.

Almost a year later since we officially released Little Voice on December 2, 2014 … I am overwhelmed by how many lives my story has been able to touch, and more importantly, thankful for all the support I have received to get me here today.

Thanksgiving reminds us to be thankful for our family and friends but also for the small accomplishments that make up the sum of our lives, the memories that shape who we are and yes, even the difficult times that have allowed us to evolve into who we needed to become.

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La petite voix @ Chapters Gloucester

After only 10 months of releasing Little Voice, we are very excited to invite you to join us at our special weekend long event hosted by Indigo, Chapters and Coles​ for the release of La petite voix!

Join us Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27 from12:00pm to 4:00pm at the Chapters Gloucester location in Ottawa for your chance to meet Little Voice’s author Amanda Bernardo and illustrator Samantha Clusiau-Lawlor!

BUT WAIT … that’s not all!

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Do you have the right back-to-school checklist?

Each year, in anticipation for the year ahead, parents received a back-to-school checklist to ensure their child has everything they need to start the new school year. We are all familiar with this list: 1 box of crayons, 1 glue, 1 large eraser, 2 boxes of pencils, 1 sharpener, 5 spiral notebooks, a backpack, etc…

But what if we had our checklist all wrong?

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