Literacy Initiative

Why Literacy?

Most people are unaware of the consequences of low literacy and its costs. Every critical social and economic issue is impacted by low literacy. As humans who are part of the collective that we call society, our lives are intertwined in a thousand ways – our wellness, enterprise, education, and infrastructure are reliant on the strength of the group, not just the individual. In this way, a fundamental like literacy isn’t just about a child or an adult who cannot read. It’s about all of us. In other words, it is a community problem, not a personal problem – one with interconnected, vital implications for our businesses, our governments, our culture and our family lives.

To try and combat many of these issues, the Community Foundation has put resources into a pilot program that addresses literacy challenges. The Literacy Initiative is place-based and provides multi-year funding to partners surrounding local elementary schools with an initial pilot focused on Lamar Milledge and WS Hornsby.

This is a strategic, collective grantmaking program that currently supports partners whose work is centered around families zoned for Lamar-Milledge Elementary School and W.S. Hornsby Elementary School.