September 19-25, 2021, marks the annual Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, hosted by the National Coalition for Literacy.
This week exists to remind us all that reading, writing, and basic math remain an elusive target for 43 million adults nationwide, including 1 in 10 adults in Buncombe County (this is enough people to fill the Harrahs’ Cherokee Center three times).
These neighbors lack the literacy skills they need to get better jobs, help their children with homework or participate fully in our community. They struggle with simple tasks like completing a form at the doctor’s office or reading the label on a prescription medicine bottle.
Literacy Together is a volunteer-based organization that provides free basic literacy, English for Speakers of Other Languages, HSE/GED instruction, and reading support to adults and youth in Buncombe County. We recruit and train volunteers to work with adults and grade-school aged children one-to-one or in small groups to support them in reaching their goals.
43 percent of adults who have low literacy skills live in poverty, and 72 percent of children of low-literate adults read below grade level. What does this say about the cycle of poverty? The mission of Literacy Together is to break that cycle of generational poverty.
In recognition of Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, Literacy Together would like to ask you to join forces with them to accomplish their mission to transform lives and communities through the power of literacy. Please take some time to learn more about the organization’s programs and its need for volunteers. Enjoy some of our success stories (like the Summer Reading Initiative which addressed the larger gaps in reading levels that students have experienced due to COVID), and learn how you can help promote Literacy Together’s work.
Visit lit-together.org for additional information.