Our mission is simple. We teach adults to read — by training volunteers and then matching the volunteers to students.

48 million adults in the United States read below the third-grade level.

When they seek help, this is what they are likely to find:

• broken web links

• disconnected phone numbers

• ineffective curriculum

Most adult literacy programs don’t serve students below the 4th grade level. They don’t have curriculum that is suitable for adults—or usable by volunteer tutors. The Volunteer Literacy Project is a response to this gaping hole in the literacy world.

• Our materials were created for adults.

Every aspect, from key words to decodable texts to illustrations, are intended for adults, not children. Adult reading students should have to suffer the added humiliation of learning form materials intended for children.

• Our method follows the Science of Reading.

We directly and explicitly teach decoding, encoding, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and core knowledge.

Our program is simple, scripted and usable.

Our curriculum is packaged into a complete system that can be used in adult education centers and libraries to teach basic reading skills—using volunteer tutors.

Here’s what our students say:

• “Everywhere I go, words jump out at me.”

• “At my new job, I can read the checklist they give me every day.”

• ”I passed the entrance exam to the tech school.”

• “I got my high school diploma!”

Here’s what our volunteers say:

• “The most satisfying volunteer experience I’ve ever had, and it’s not even close.”

• “Unlike every other adult literacy program I’ve been involved with, this one actually trained us and gave us skills so that we can actually teach students how to read.”

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And that’s where you come in. We believe the tools necessary to acquire literacy must be available to EVERYONE.

We need your help to make that happen.