Increasing literacy changes lives
Imagine not being able to read to your children, understand the prices in the supermarket, or read directions on a prescription bottle! This is a reality for roughly 32 million in our country, as 14 percent of Americans can’t read. And, 21 percent read below a fifth grade level.
Yet to succeed in today’s complex world, a person must be able to read, write, do math and use a computer. Without the ability to effectively use written and digital information, the cycle of poverty will never be broken.
There are 56,000 adults in Greenville County who do not have literacy skills needed for employment and do not have a GED or a high school diploma. The cost of this lack of education is shocking.
Carol Browning, executive director of the Greenville Literacy Association (GLA), calculated that the average annual income for an adult in Greenville County without such credentials is $10,800, which is below recognized poverty levels for the Upstate. The annual earning power of an adult with a high school diploma or GED, however, averages around $24,900.
This lack of education carries a societal cost. According to 2012 U.S. Census statistics, public assistance can comprise up to 53 percent of the income needed to sustain adults at the lowest income levels. Subsidies for housing, food assistance (SNAP), and health insurance through Medicaid average over $12,300 for low-wage adults.
One has only to multiply $12,300 by 56,000 to see the enormous cost of illiteracy to the Greenville community. Contrast that cost with the cost to educate one student at the Greenville Literacy Association — about $685 a year. There is a 216 percent return for investing in GED or high school equivalency courses!
Partnerships are needed to increase the number of Greenville citizens who have basic literacy skills so that they can get jobs, manage their personal lives, and contribute to the community. Rotary International made this a priority in 1968, and since then, Rotary Clubs in Greenville have carried out several major literacy projects for both children and adults.
A prime example was the Rotary Family Literacy Center which was established in 2005. This collaboration with the Greenville Literacy Association provided basic literacy instruction as well as a focus on English as a Second Language (ESL).
The center was housed in the YWCA Building on Augusta Street for almost ten years. With the closure of the YWCA and sale of the building, adult students now take courses at GLA’s McAlister Square location.
Rotarians understand that Greenville cannot achieve its economic goals until it increases literacy among its citizens. Their work with GLA provides Rotarians an opportunity to be advocates for literacy and help build capacity to develop literacy skills critical for employability. When the Rotary Family Literacy Center was closed, a new partnership with GLA — the Rotary Partnership for Literacy — was created.
Rotary Clubs collaborating on this new partnership are Greenville Evening Rotary Club, Greenville Breakfast Rotary Club, Simpsonville Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Greenville, Foothills Rotary Club, Greater Greer Rotary Club and Mauldin Rotary Club. These Rotary Clubs recognize that successful literacy outcomes require a long-term commitment and have made a multi-year investment in GLA.
One crucial part of this partnership is engaging Rotarians as tutors at GLA. According to Browning, there is always a waiting list for classes, and volunteer tutors are a critical part of GLA’s ability to serve the students who want to improve their education.
Funds provided through Rotary’s commitment will help upgrade GLA’s technology needs and provide a Rotary Scholarship Fund for the GED test, which doubled in cost in January 2014. Funds for technology for GLA are critical. Adult literacy students must learn using computers in order to develop computer literacy as well as a skill for continued learning.
Rotarians are focused on changing lives, and improvement in literacy leads to improvement in the quality of one’s life and ultimately of one’s community.
Adults in literacy programs describe the world as “opening up” to them. Adult literacy extends far beyond an individual’s well-being. Parents who enhance their own literacy skills are more likely to read to their children, and those children will perform better in school.
Ultimately, there is no better way to change someone’s life and the lives of generations to come than to give them the basic skills of reading or using the English language. As Anne Matthews, vice president of Rotary International for 2013-14 said, “Getting an education is the first step in preventing and eliminating most of the world’s issues and problems. Education is the path out of poverty.”
Judith S. Prince is with USC Upstate. She is past president of the Rotary Club of Greenville, and a member of the Greenville Literacy Association Board of Directors. She can be reached at email@example.com.