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

Our materials were specifically created for adults. Everything from key words to decodable texts to illustrations are intended for adult students.

Our method follows the Science of Reading. We directly and explicitly teach decoding, encoding, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and core knowledge.

36 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

That’s where we come in. The Volunteer Literacy Project took an effective, proven approach to teaching reading and packaged it into a complete system that can be used in adult education centers to teach basic reading skills.

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.