Mission

The Gary Literacy Coalition, Inc. supports, promotes, enhances, and coordinates the accessibility of literacy opportunities, thus making ...Gary, "A Reading City."

Vision

Gary, Indiana will become a literate community known as a "Reading City" with every individual having access to literacy opportunities.

Challenges

  • To facilitate a collaborative effort among literacy advocates effectively addressing the literacy needs in the city of Gary.
  • To approach literacy from an all-inclusive perspective, serving clients across the life span.
  • To raise public awareness of the scope of literacy needs in Gary... general literacy, health literacy, and financial literacy.
  • To foster sustainable positive civic engagement and educational improvement.
  • To ensure that citizens with literacy needs have access to appropriate services.
  • To establish a voice for individuals and community empowerment through the provision of literacy opportunities

Program Description

A teen mom high-school dropout needs guidance regarding the importance of reading to her child as early as zero months; the same mom needs assistance in finding the appropriate program to improve her reading skills in order to continue her education. A twenty-three year old male realizes that he needs help to pass the General Educational Development (GED) exam to increase his employability status.

Rehospitalization of a child due to improper use of medication prompted a parent's request for assistance with reading. A fifty-two year old grandmother, reading at a second grade level, privately pleads for an opportunity to learn to read better to keep the job that she has been able to manage for twenty years prior to increased technology. A productive, small, non-profit literacy program needs materials to keep afloat.

This litany of examples allows a glimpse of the thousands of scenarios that drive the work of The Gary Literacy Coalition, Inc. (GLC).

The Gary Literacy Coalition, Inc. provides literacy focus in four targeted areas:

  1. creating awareness of the importance of literacy to health, economic development, and family well-being
  2. connecting learners and volunteers to the appropriate programs and services
  3. supporting and providing programs and instructional materials to improve literacy
  4. securing resources to develop, support and expand literacy programs

The involvement and commitment of literacy partners continue to allow GLC to demonstrate success in providing access to literacy opportunities across the life-span that translate to the attainment of learner literacy goals. These collaborative efforts build the capacity and effectiveness of literacy services, mobilize resources to support literacy, advocate for opportunities that benefit residents at the lowest level of literacy, enhance awareness of the need for literacy services, and address the impact of literacy as it relates to health.

Need for The Gary Literacy Coalition

National Trends and Local Implications
The need for improved literacy is more critical than ever as our daily life routines demand the use of ever changing technology.

Nationally

  • Over 40 million Americans have significant literacy needs
  • 75% of unemployed adults have difficulty with reading and writing tasks
  • Among adults with low literacy skills, 43% live in poverty and 17% receive food stamps

Locally

  • Over 70% of adults function at a low Literacy Level
  • 32.9% of adults have less than a high school education