About The Literacy Council
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics there are more than 92,000 adults in Central Alabama who can't read at all, or who can't read simple materials.
A significant number of those Alabamians are unemployed, receive public assistance, and live in poverty. They cannot read to their children. They cannot read forms, signs, or maps. They navigate the world by the dim light of memory.
However, many of them want to better themselves by learning how to read, passing the GED exam, getting jobs, supporting their families, setting better examples for their children, and ultimately giving back more to their communities.
The Literacy Council is here to help them.
Our vision is a community in which each person is functionally literate, and our role in realizing our vision is through our mission – to strengthen and support organizations that teach people how to read and that provide other literacy services in Jefferson, Walker, Shelby, Blount, and St. Clair counties.
That important role was the impetus for the United Way of Central Alabama, the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, and the Junior League of Birmingham to form The Literacy Council in 1991. Since then, The Literacy Council has coordinated services and provided support for literacy programs throughout Central Alabama.
We're also working on the big picture. Learn more about The Literacy Initiative – A Regional Plan for Regional Action, a community-wide effort to address illiteracy in Central Alabama.
Learn more about our other programs or contact us for more information.
View The Literacy Council's 2010 Board of Directors.