During the holidays, many people are looking for charities to contribute to help out. To help encourage literacy, we have put together a list of 10 charities that promote reading. For your exploration below, we’ve listed the name of the charity, their mission statement and linked to their site.
There are certainly many other fine organizations that help teach people to read, so feel free to help us grow this list by leaving your favorite charities that promote literacy in the comments section. Also check out our list from last time.
1.Books to Prisoners: “Books To Prisoners (BTP) is a Seattle-based, all-volunteer, nonprofit organization that sends books to prisoners in the United States. BTP believes that books are tools for learning and opening minds to new ideas and possibilities. By sending books to prisoners, we hope to foster a love of reading and encourage the pursuit of knowledge and self-improvement.”
2. ProLiteracy: “Why Literacy? Why not focus on world health? Or gender equality? Or poverty relief? Our answer at ProLiteracy is simple. To solve all of these socioeconomic problems and more, we must start by building a more literate adult population. Because when individuals the world over learn how to read, write, do basic math, and use computers, the more likely they are to lift themselves out of poverty, contribute to improved health care costs, and find and keep sustainable employment.”
3. Room to Read: “We work in collaboration with communities and local governments across Asia and Africa to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the life skills they’ll need to succeed in school and beyond.”
5. Books Not Bars: “Books Not Bars organizes the largest network of families of incarcerated youth and champion alternatives to California’s costly, broken prison system.”
6. Reading is Fundamental: “Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is the largest children’s literacy nonprofit in the United States. We prepare and motivate children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to those children and families who need them most. We inspire children to be lifelong readers through the power of choice. RIF provides new, free books for children to choose from and make their own.”
7. World Reader: “We start early using e-readers in primary schools where if kids fall behind, they almost never catch up. Kids begin reading thousands of local stories together with great international books that we’ve curated into the largest most culturally relevant libraries of books. Our rapid scaling capacity is the most effective and inexpensive way to eradicate illiteracy globally.”
8. Love of Reading Foundation: “Our mission is to encourage a love of reading in every child and give them the chance to reach their full potential. We know we will get there with the help of our 7,000 employees and millions of customers.”
9. World Literacy Foundation: “The World Literacy Foundation is an independent not-for-profit charitable body, founded in Australia in 2003. We acknowledge education as a basic human right, and believe that literacy unlocks the door to a life of learning. Higher literacy levels enable people to overcome the barriers of poverty, disease and fulfil their potential.”
10. Reading Hamlets: “Reading Hamlets is a non-profit organization that’s dedicated to ending the cycle of poverty through literacy, by providing books to children, particularly girls in rural Nigeria. Reading Hamlets aims at promoting reading & improving literacy in schools & homes across Nigeria through advocacy and outreach plans. Our outreach plans include book donations, literacy campaigns & reading clubs.”