About Friends of Literacy

Since 1991 Friends of Literacy has been the voice of the illiterate.

Friends of Literacy is:

Private (not government operated)
Independent (not part of a school system)
Not-for-Profit
Local (Serving only Knox County)
Governed by a volunteer board of local corporate and community leaders
Is supported by members (individual and corporate donations)
Supported by local, regional, state, and national foundations and granting agencies

We support programs that offer year-round daytime and evening adult education classes.

Our Goal: To provide funding and volunteers that support basic education and life-skill training to adult students, helping them to become better workers, parents, and citizens.

What is Literacy? "Literacy means an individual's ability to read, write, and speak English, and to compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society, to achieve one's goals and develop one's knowledge and potential." - National Literacy Act 1991

Benefits of Literacy:

Better job opportunities, increased earnings
Educational advancement
Decreases intergenerational cycle of poverty
Raises workforce effectiveness
Increases civic participation

More Information

Mission Statement
Vision Statement
Core Values
History
Definition Of Literacy
National Literacy Quick Facts
Local Literacy Quick Facts
The Problem
The Challenge
Results Of Our Work

"Friends of Literacy strives to help volunteers realize that their efforts at helping someone learn to read not only changes the life of that person, but also, in the process and result, it changes the entire community. One person. That's how you start to change the world."

—Brad Meltzer