Adult Education and Family Literacy Week is September 24 – September 30.
Why should you care? Literacy touches on just about every social issue that we all care about, like health care, education, justice, poverty, and even domestic violence. If you could only read as well as a third grader, what would it be like to apply for a job? If you couldn’t do basic math, what would it be like to pay your bills each month?
There are 36 million U.S. adults with low literacy skills. What does this mean? It means there are millions of Americans who cannot read or write well enough to get a driver’s license, read nutrition labels, complete a job application, or help their child with homework. Locally, about 1 in 10 adults in metro Richmond* are challenged by low-literacy. That means there are thousands of local people who need help from The READ Center.
READ provides a welcoming place for adults to learn and improve their skills. We want to provide adult literacy services for every adult in Richmond who needs it. You can help make that happen!
Here are a few ways you can help:
- Educate your network about adult literacy. Follow The READ Center on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Share our posts, or write one of your own and tag The READ Center in your post.
- Spread the word. We have created a new flyer that you can print and post at your church, apartment complex, or work. Staff will be bringing copies to classes for students and tutors to distribute.
- Donate. $150 provides 10 Challenger Adult Reading Series books to students. Your generous support keeps our services free and helps us serve more students who need our help.
In a perfect world, The READ Center would not exist. Everyone would be able to read and write, perform basic arithmetic, and complete digital tasks. Help The READ Center go out of business! Support adult education and family literacy this week and throughout the year.
*City of Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield
