The 21-day City Wide Literacy Challenge is back.

Starting Feb. 1, Chilliwack residents are encouraged to set aside 20 minutes per day for three weeks to read. Along with honing literacy skills, taking the challenge gives participants a chance to win great prizes when they fill out a reading passport.

"Reading is really, really good for us," said Chilliwack community literacy co-ordinator Debbie Denault. "It's a way to learn. It's good for our brains. It's a way for us to follow our interests."

Literacy skills are important for individual success, but they're also important to a community's bottom line, according to Denault. "The more literate a community is, the healthier the community becomes."

? Clip reading passports from an issue of the Times or visit www.chilliwacklearning.com to print one.