Lost & Found is a national storytelling project, led by the Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation, in collaboration with a diverse coalition of mental health and child-serving organizations. We wanted to give kids in Canada a platform to tell their COVID-19 pandemic stories. This project has been made possible [in part] by the Government of Canada, through the Canadian Heritage Department’s Celebration and Commemoration Program Reopening Fund. For children and their families, the pandemic had been a struggle. Lockdown measures and their knock-on effects had affected children’s mental and physical health, educational attainment, and connections to community. We know that storytelling is necessary for developing literacy skills. Storytelling is also a way to build connections between people, teach the value of listening, and to remind ourselves that everyone’s story matters. The Lost & Found project helps children connect with their own emotions and experiences, which will allow them to better understand and engage with their communities. To help future generations understand what the COVID-19 pandemic was like for Canada’s children and their families, we have archived the stories created by the children participating in the project.
NEWS RELEASE Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation launches Lost & Found: Pandemic Stories of Discovery by Kids in Canada, an online public gallery