Maple Ridge twins known as the Property Brothers have partnered with Canada’s largest educational food service provider to promote literacy among Canadian youth.
Drew and Jonathan Scott, Thomas Haney secondary alumni and hosts of HGTV’s top‐rated show Property Brothers, will be distributing their new book, Builder Brothers: Better Together, to students from kindergarten to Grade 12 at Chartwells’ more than 550 schools across Canada.
Students will be encouraged to “borrow a book,” take it home to read with their caregivers, and participate in the interactive mini race car building exercise at the end of the book. Chartwells will then track the number of hours the children spend reading as part of a wider campaign promoting youth literacy across Canada.
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Chartwells specializes in providing food services and support services across core sectors including leading sports and leisure venues, executive dining rooms and cafes, schools, universities, seniors’ residences and hospitals as well as remote camps and off shore oil rigs.
The partnership with the Scott brothers is part of Chartwells’ platform, Thinking Ahead Giving Back, where the company has pledged to: deliver 1,000,000 meals both domestically and globally to tackle food insecurity; provide 10,000 hours of community support around mental health and other challenges facing their students; and create 1,000 job connections through a more focused commitment to student employment.
“Chartwells is incredibly committed to enriching the communities they serve, and we are excited to collaborate with them under their Thinking Ahead Giving Back platform and launch this program that supports a big push for literacy across Canada,” said Drew Scott, with his brother Jonathan adding that they have always been passionate about reading and storytelling and the way it inspires them to dream big.
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“Kids benefit so much from spending time reading aloud with their parents, teachers, and caregivers. It’s engaging, enlightening, and social. It builds curiosity, memory, and motivation and shows kids that anything is possible,” said Jonathan.
Through the literacy campaign, Chartwells has committed to providing 10,000 hours of community support by helping students at the elementary school level develop their literacy and reading skills, while decreasing the amount of time spent in front of a screen.
To date, the company reports, that with the support of their partner schools across the country, they have delivered more than 1.4 million meals to children in need and provided more than 17,000 hours of community support.
“We are so proud to be partnering with the Property Brothers on this one-of-a-kind Campaign for Literacy,” said Ashton Sequeira, president of Chartwells.
“At Chartwells, we focus on nourishing the minds of Canadian youth. It’s not only our business, it’s our responsibility. We know a well-balanced diet is a critical factor in overall well-being, but our commitment to nourishment goes beyond the nutritious, better-for-you meal options we serve students. Our goal is to help nourish the whole student. Mind, body and soul,” said Sequeira.
The Scott brothers first book, Builder Brothers: Big Plans, debuted last fall. The story follows the adventures of a young Drew and Jonathan who do everything together including building birdhouses and dreaming up big plans for the future.
On Tuesday Sept. 10 the brothers will be releasing their second book, Builder Brothers: Better Together. In this adventure, the town sponsors a soapbox derby race and Drew and Jonathan are first in line to enter. But when the rubber hits the road and the brothers just can’t agree on how to build the best car and they wind up competing against each other. Can one of them win without the other or is it better to work together?
With illustrations by Kim Smith, the book also includes a do‐it‐yourself project to build a miniature race car.
Builder Brothers: Better Together, can be pre-ordered at HarperCollins Canada for $21.99.
cflanagan@mapleridgenews.com
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