Literacy Organizations
A portion of every subscription box will go toward one of the following literacy organizations. The more subscription boxes we sell, the more we can donate. The more money we can give, the faster we can help everyone read and change the world.
There are so many more worthy literacy organizations, but you have to start somewhere.
- Evidence Based Literacy Instruction (EBLI) - Provides teachers with research-based theory, skills, and concepts to effective teach students how to read.
- Ferst Readers - Provides books to low-income communities to prepare preschool children for reading and learning success.
- John Corcoran Foundation - Dedicated to eradicating illiteracy and sub-literacy through teaching adults and children how to read.
- National Coalition for Literacy - Advances adult education and family literacy.
- ProLiteracy - Promotes adult literacy through content development, programs, and advocacy.
- Reading is Fundamental (RIF) - Supports literacy programs nationwide and aims to put books in the hands of underprivileged children in America.
- Storybook Dads - Parents in prison record a bedtime story for their child to share the joy of storytelling from behind bars.
- The Pajama Program - Gives the gift of sleepwear and a bedtime book to children, with a large portion of donations going to children who have been, or are waiting to be, adopted.
- United Through Reading - Offers deployed military parents the opportunity to video record themselves reading storybooks to their children to help ease the difficulty of separation and cultivate a love of reading.
- World Literacy Foundation - Works to lift young people out of poverty through literacy by operating on the principle that education is a basic human right.
There are so many more worthy literacy organizations, but you have to start somewhere.
Literacy Statistics
If these statistics affect you deeply at the core, please consider purchasing a monthly subscription box. This is just a small sampling of literacy statistics available.
Literacy truly is power - power over one's own life. Literacy opens the door to a brighter future.
- 1 in 4 children in America grow up without learning how to read.
- Over 70% of America's inmates cannot read above a 4th grade level.
- 2/3 of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare.
- Students who don't read proficiently by the 3rd grade are 4 times likelier to drop out of school.
- 53% of 4th graders admitted to reading recreationally almost daily, while only 20% of 8th graders did.
- 63 million US citizens over 16 can only read at a 5th grade level or lower.
- Adult low literacy can be connected to almost every socio-economic issue in the US.
- Children from low-income homes hear as many as 30 million fewer words than their more affluent peers.
- By age five, a typical middle-class child recognizes 22 letters of the alphabet, compared to 9 for a child from a low-income family.
- As early as age three, a child's vocabulary can predict third-grade reading achievement.
- In many rural communities, the school library is the only place where children can access books.
- If children don't get the help they need to learn to read, then the gaps between struggling and strong readers widen and worsen as they grow.
- More than 60% of low-income families have no children's books in their home.
- Reading and being read aloud to has an impact that extends beyond just hearing stories.
- More than 80% of children from economically disadvantaged communities lose reading skills over the summer because they lack access to books.
- Having books in the home and reading to your child benefits them in ways you may never know.
- Children who are read to at least three times a week by a family member are almost twice as likely to score in the top 25% in reading compared to children who are read to less than 3 times a week.
- Children with greater access to books and other print materials express more enjoyment of books, reading, and academics.
- Children growing up in homes with at least 20 books get 3 years more schooling than children from bookless homes, independent of their parents' education, occupation, and class.
- Children's books actually contain 50% more rare words than primetime television or even college students' conversations.
- The nurturing and one-on-one attention from parents during reading aloud encourages children to form a positive association with books and reading later in life.
- About 1 in 6 adults, or 36 million Americans, have less than a basic literacy level.
- The more literacy instruction we provide throughout a child's progression through school, the better the outcomes for our students, our communities, and our nation.
Literacy truly is power - power over one's own life. Literacy opens the door to a brighter future.