Kevin Smith had a passion for reading and a love of First Nations communities.
His brothers, Ted and Randy Smith, want to keep their brother’s legacy alive with REZ READS, a program that provides books to help with literacy in First Nations communities.
“My brother passed away in January last year. He was 57-years-old. He lived in Kingston and his friends were looking for a way to honour and remember him,” said Ted Smith.
Kevin was a retired veteran.
“He was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces for many years. He served in the Gulf, and he also did two tours to Afghanistan,” Ted said.
“My brother was involved with so many charitable works. He worked for a homeless shelter, and he loved working with First Nations communities.”
Kevin was awarded the Queen's Jubilee Medal in 2012 for his volunteer work in his community
Last year in memory of Kevin, the first REZ READS book drive took place in Kingston.
The program is hosted by True North Aid, in partnership with the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation and the Frontier College Literacy Program.
As a Canadian charity, True North Aid provides humanitarian assistance in areas of self-determination, reconciliation, water, food, health, housing, hope, and education.
The priority for the organization is to help ensure the dignity and health of Indigenous people through its actions.
“We had one Indigo location in Kingston take part last year, and this year, we are so excited to have three, with one location in Cambridge. There are Indigenous communities in need of books. We are so happy Indigo wants to support us,” Ted said.
Indigo locations in Cambridge, Kingston and Winnipeg are hosting the REZ READS book drive from January 28 - February 13.
These locations are each paired with an Indigenous community who will receive the donated and purchased registry books.
Books from Indigo in Cambridge will help support Igloolik, a vibrant Inuit hamlet of about 1,800 people in the Qikiqtaaluk region of Nunavut. It is a small island between Baffin Island and mainland Nunavut, three degrees above the Arctic Circle.
“I live in Cambridge and my family lives in Waterloo Region. It means a lot for us to be able to help in this way here in Cambridge. We all just really want to be part of this, in my brother’s memory,” Ted said.
“I know this would have meant a lot to him.”
For every purchased book from the registry, Indigo will match it.
"We are hoping people will choose books written by Indigenous authors, but the drive isn’t restricted to just these,” he said.
“People are invited to bring their gently used or newly purchased books to the Indigo location in Cambridge where my family will then sort them by age groups, and then they will be shipped.”
Whether it was giving children more opportunities to read, or supporting a hockey team in an Indigenous community, Kevin Smith was always ready to help.
“This is why it is extremely important to us to be able to remember and honour him in this way. He cared about everyone, and his community meant so much to him,” Ted said.
When Kevin passed away, his brother said he couldn’t believe how many stories people wanted to share about his brother.
“We had no idea of the impact he had on so many ... To be able to help children read, it means so much to my family to do something that was so meaningful to him.”
For more information, visit the Cambridge Indigo Facebook page.
For the REZ READS book registry, look here.
