Books for Literacy

Imagine not being able to read. Reading brings me so much pleasure, it’s hard to imagine life without books and reading.

Yet, according to the National Right to Read Foundation, quoted on Education Portal:

  • 42 million American adults can’t read at all; 50 million read at only fourth or fifth grade levels.
  • The number of functionally illiterate adults increases by approximately 2.25 million each year.
  • 20 percent of all graduating high school seniors are functionally illiterate.

My good friend, Beverly Hart, who has been involved in literacy in San Antonio, Texas, for more than twenty years, is soliciting donations of books for students in literacy programs.

The organization that I am with teaches adults to read. We have 17 classes in a number of churches all over town. Each class averages 22 people. The teachers (all volunteers) have decided to challenge our new readers to read books!

The challenge is for students to read one book each month. They must not only read the book, but also write a report on it! This is a tremendous step for so many. We want our learners to not only be able to read but also have the comprehension skills they need to advance in their jobs and their lives.

We are not asking the students to return the books. Many have never owned a book, and we would like for them to be able to keep them should they choose. I am sure that many will be returned for recycling to others; however, we still need lots of books!

I am writing today to ask for donations of books…any kind…for all ages…paperbacks, hard bound, whatever you have laying around that you have finished and would like to donate. This is going to be an ongoing book drive….so as you read and collect books you no longer want, please consider giving them to our learners. ALSO, please tell your family, friends and neighbors about this and maybe you can get books from them as well. It will be so much appreciated.

If you are anywhere near San Antonio and would like to donate some of the books overflowing your bookshelves, e-mail me so I can put you in contact with Beverly.

If it’s not feasible for you to donate to Beverly’s program, consider donating books to a literacy organization in your area.

Give the gift of reading by donating books for new readers.

[tags]literacy, books, reading[/tags]

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