The Mama Soula Literacy Award:    is named after Soula Mathioudakis who came to Newfoundland from her native Athens, Greece 46 years ago. Soula adapted to her new surroundings teaching herself English by reading the daily newspaper. She, along with her husband Peter, raised three young children in this foreign land during a time when little to no supports existed to help newcomers. Despite the obstacles, Soula was the driving force behind her family to establish a thriving restaurant business that continues to flourish to this day.

Soula’s children recall her stories of a childhood growing up in war-torn Greece during WW II and the menacing sound of marching soldiers’ boots throughout the town. This experience left an indelible mark that instilled in Soula the importance and value of independence gained through education and a strong work ethic. She also nurtured many newcomers along their path, often being the first to provide them with employment and a chance to start a new life. She had a warm heart for all who met her; her humility, courage, and kindness remain a force of nature that lives on in those she left behind.

The Mama Soula Literacy Award supports NL school libraries and is primarily financed through support by the Mathioudakis and Flogeras Families and through a fundraising effort organized by LIFT-NL at its biennial Literacy Conference.

The Award:  Two $1000 awards are granted every second year to two schools in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Eligibility:  All schools in Newfoundland and Labrador that contain any or all of grades K-6.  Interested schools will be required to complete an application form which includes a description of a proposed Literacy Initiative and to outline how the award could be used to progress the school’s literacy goals.
Award Regulations:
One application per school for each year of the award (every two years)

Application must be endorsed by the Principal of the school.

Each application must describe a literacy initiative that the school wishes to undertake and shall include details of the initiative.

The literacy initiative can be for a particular grade level(s) or school-wide.
Literacy Initiative should include a brief description, purpose/goal of the initiative, group/level of students involved, timeline, and how the literacy initiative will be evaluated. 

Each winning school will be required to share some documentation of your project (e.g. student artwork, video, narrative documentation, etc. to the committee by June 2025)

Applications only accepted via this online application form
Application Deadline:  12:00AM Midnight (NST) June 21st 2024 - NO LATE APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED

Winning schools will be announced during the LIFT NL Conference of the year of the award. (Fall of the year of the award)

Award will be decided based on the strength of the application with respect to the proposed initiative, level of engagement with students, collaboration within the school and community, and plan for evaluation.

Winning schools will be asked to submit a brief summary report with visual evidence of the completed or ongoing initiative within 8 months of award.

Two winning schools will be selected, and they will each receive a cheque for $1000 to support their literacy initiatives for the Mama Soula Award.