The Need for Literacy

The Need for Literacy
As you read this, there are over 5,500 adults in Greater Boston on waiting lists for the chance to learn. They want to be able to read to their children, fill out a job application, or follow directions on a medicine bottle. Some of these adults, determined to improve their lives and their children's futures, will have to wait three years for an opening in a literacy class.

With your help, we can end waiting lists and open access to all these adults determined to learn. Click here to find out how you can help.

Low literacy levels are not just obstacles to individual dreams; they impact the full functioning of our democracy and the growth of our economy. The need for adult literacy is vital to our collective future.

Literacy addresses the spectrum of key social concerns from broad issues, such as educating our

workforce for the 21st century, to personal problems, such as increasing a mother's education, a critical factor in her children's success in school. Find out how literacy impacts community development, children's welfare, health, and economic productivity.