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Literacy has been a national concern for years as evidenced by the foreword noted in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, “…too many children in America are segregated by low expectations, illiteracy, and self-doubt…But if we succeed in educating our youth, many other successes will follow throughout our country and in the lives of our citizens.”i
Despite efforts from the federal governement in the past several years, The National Endowment for the Arts published a report “To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence” in November of 2007 stating, “Americans are spending less time reading; reading comprehension skills are eroding; these declines have serious civic, social, cultural, and economic implications.”ii
Literacy Incorporated is a non-profit organization on a mission to fight illiteracy across America by reaching out to high school students in all corners of the continental United States. With new technology coming out seemingly every day, children are not reading like they have in the past. In fact, since 1984, there has been a 30% decrease in the number of 13-year-olds who read every day for fun and a decrease of 22% for 17-year-olds.iii This in turn affects students’ reading scores, which are down 13% for high school seniors since 1992.iv It is becoming painfully obvious in our schools and in the workforce that illiteracy is on the rise and with it the numerous problems with which an illiterate society must struggle—decreased productivity, a shortage of adequate workers, communication difficulties, an uninformed public which makes poor decisions, rises in welfare costs due to citizens who can’t hold a job, as well as countless other issues. According to the NEA, “38% of employers find high school graduates ‘deficient’ in reading comprehension…” while 81% of employers find them deficient in written communication.v
A person’s social responsibility is also affected by how much he or she reads. Literary readers are 27% more likely to volunteer or do charity work than non-readers and are 31% more likely to vote. Deficient readers on the other hand, are far more likely to drop out of high school, are 33% more likely to be out of the workforce, and are more likely to be put in prison. In fact, “Half of America’s below-basic readers failed to complete high school.”vi
To help battle these problems, Deborah LeBlanc, the founder of Literacy Inc., decided in 2005 to create an incentive-based program that would encourage America’s students to read—the LeBlanc Literacy Challenge. To participate in this annual Challenge, students must read two books, take an on-line quiz and submit a short essay. The participant with the highest score wins a grand prize of $5000 in cash, plus an additional $1000 that is given to the school or library of the winner’s choice. As an added incentive to further education, if the winner chooses to put the $5000 in a college fund, Deborah will personally set up a matching funds program at the college of the student’s choice. In addition, once the student is enrolled in the university, his or her dedication to education, as made evident through grades and attendance, will be rewarded with additional funds to cover subsequent semesters, all the way through a four-year bachelor’s degree program. Other prizes include a desktop computer as well as gift certificates to bookstores with values up to $275.
As an added incentive to get students to read, the books needed to take the Challenge are provided to students in high schools across the nation at no cost. At the conclusion of an inspiring and motivational presentation, which Deborah gives to the students about reading and taking charge of their lives no matter their circumstances, we place the books directly in the students’ hands, giving them one less reason not to take the Challenge and read. This process in effect addresses every problem President Bush mentioned in his foreword: “low expectations, illiteracy, and self-doubt”.
It is our hope that by combining excitement and reading through concrete, valuable incentives along with an inspiring presentation, we will encourage high school students to take that crucial first step in creating a more literate society—reading a book, cover to cover.
We at Literacy Inc. are seeking sponsors who have proven their dedication to supporting education and building better communities. Sponsors like you. Your help will not only provide free books to high school students wanting to take the Challenge, it will give these students the opportunity to positively transform their lives and futures, which will, in turn, affect all of our futures.
Please take a look at this five-minute video for more details about becoming a sponsor in the LeBlanc Literacy Challenge: click here to watch.
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