International Literacy Day

International Literacy Day will be celebrated Monday, September 9th.  This special day focuses attention on worldwide literacy needs. According to the International Reading Association, more than 774 million of the world’s adults (nearly two-thirds of whom are women) do not know how to read or write, and roughly 123 million children lack those same skills, and are often denied any access to education.

Here in Maricopa Country, about 300,000 adults  do not possess basic prose skills (per the National Center for Education Statistics).  Most of the families A Stepping Stone Foundation works with certainly are in high need of both native language reading skills as well as English language reading and writing skills.  Each year of the 35 families that enroll, only 5-7 parents are ready for GED preperation classes. The rest study ABE (Adult Basic Education) and/or are learning basic English. Studies tell us if the parents have a low rate of literacy, the children will be at a greatly increased risk for never graduating high school

If you are in a position to help us help those who need to learn to read in the local community–especially those families who have very young children, please donate today.