Reading—for entertainment or education—tops my list of favorite things to do. Books, blogs, bulletins, blurbs, ballads, brochures, broadcasts, blather, buzz—I love all forms of the written word. Yet according to UNESCO, 20% of adults are illiterate. Not only are these people deprived of the joy of reading, they face incredible challenges in living productive lives. … Read more
Most authors support literacy programs for two major reasons. First, the altruistic reason: illiteracy is a huge problem for the people who can’t read and for society in general. In the US, according to the Education Portal: 50 percent of adults cannot read a book written at an eighth grade level. … 3 out of … Read more
Update 5/23/22: Lest we think this is an old post, so it’s an old problem, someone sent me this more recent article: World Hunger: Key Facts and Statistics. The information in this link replaces the numbers listed in the post below, but everything else about the post is still valid. Chances are if you have the … Read more
A reader e-mailed me and asked me to help spread the word about the Knight-League Scholarship, a writing competition for high school seniors that will award three $5,000 scholarships. Holly Alonis wrote: I write to you as an online liaison for the LEAGUE, which is a school and web-based system for service learning that empowers … Read more
Today is the 36th anniversary of Roe v Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the US. In those 36 years, nearly 50 MILLION babies have been denied the right to life. How many of them would have been scientists or researchers who discovered cures for diseases or improved food production methods? … Read more
photo credit: rubberpaw President Bush has proclaimed today, January 16, 2009 as Religious Freedom Day. The proclamation states in part: I call on all Americans to reflect on the great blessing of religious liberty, endeavor to preserve this freedom for future generations, and commemorate this day with appropriate events and activities. The first settlers came … Read more
In case you missed my post on Christmas giving, here’s another chance to drop something into the bright red kettle to support the great work of the Salvation Army. Dynamic fundraising meter for your Red Kettle campaign.
When I applied to college many years ago, I was surprised to learn that I was entitled to financial assistance below our family’s income put us “below the poverty line.” I had no idea we were poor. We had plenty to eat, a safe place to live, and lots and lots of love. Millions of … Read more
Thanks to a recent post at One Step Forward, I’ve discovered Free Rice. The site offers a vocabulary quiz, requiring you to click on one of four definitions for the word given. The degree of difficulty of the words you are asked is determined by your answers. If you miss an answer, you are given … Read more
I intend to stay on-topic for my blog and relate my post to writing and publishing. Will you participate? [tags]Blog Action Day[/tags]