IMPACT
Adult Literacy Empowers
Literacy likely affects every part of your life, though you may not notice. For the 43 million adults in the U.S. with low literacy skills, it’s impossible to ignore.
Adults with less than a high school diploma earn three times less than those with higher education. Adult literacy yields better economic outcomes and can improve job opportunities, family relationships, children’s education, health issues, and general quality of life.
At First Literacy, we are committed to helping adults in Massachusetts improve their literacy skills so they can succeed in every aspect of their lives. That means helping adult learners continue their education and championing the incredible teachers who are on the front lines of the fight for adult literacy. With help from you and many others, our impact is significant and life changing.
Our Impact 2021-2022
5189
ADULT LEARNERS
benefited from First Literacy programs
303
ADULT LEARNERS
benefited from First Literacy Grant projects
39
CITIES
Cities and towns reached in Massachusetts
134
EDUCATORS
attended First Literacy workshops
482
HOURS
of free training helped adult educators in their classrooms
30
ADULT LEARNERS
received First Literacy scholarships to start or continue college
YOUR SUPPORT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
When you support First Literacy, you don’t just support the incredible students and teachers that are impacted by our work. It is estimated that bringing all adults to a sixth grade reading level would generate $2.2 trillion for the U.S. economy.
Adults with low literacy want to better their lives and contribute to the economy. Your donation can help make that possible.
FIRST LITERACY GRANTS
Since the introduction of the First Literacy Grants initiative in 2014, we have supported the development of innovative literacy programs across Massachusetts with unique hands-on technical support and field-wide sharing of project results.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
FIRST LITERACY SCHOLARSHIPS
Since 1990, we have awarded over 500 scholarships to recent graduates of Massachusetts Adult Basic Education (ABE) or English (ESOL) language programs who are continuing to vocational training or higher education.
SCHOLAR STORIES
Kherrina
Kherrina is from Kingston, Jamaica – a city known for it’s vibrant night life and severe economic hardship. Her childhood was not easy....
Mark
When Mark suddenly lost his father in July of 2020, his life was turned upside down. He grew up watching his father work hard every day,...
Diana
Diana is from the Dominican Republic where much of the country lives in poverty. She is the first in her family to move to the United...
Brima
Brima is from Sierra Leone, West Africa – a country that has experienced an 11-year civil war, an Ebola virus epidemic, mudslides,...
Yves
Yves was born and raised in Haiti. When Yves arrived in the U.S. she was met with many challenges. As a single mother of three, Yves...
Lilian
Lilian came to the United States with her husband and two children to get away from violence that disrupted her family in Brazil. Her...
Damus
Damus came to Boston eight years ago when the United States welcomed victims of Haiti’s magnitude 7.2 earthquake in 2010. She stayed with...
Yane
Yane faced many challenges when she arrived in the United States in 2019. She needed to balance a full-time job, care for her young son,...