Today Is The Day To Support Family Literacy

Today marks an online celebration of National Family Literacy Month and as part, those of us who are passionate about bringing about a more literate world through all generations (not just children) and walks of American life (not just English speakers or underprivileged) are excited about a first! The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), an organization on whose Board of Directors I am proud to serve, is having its first Social Media Fundraiser.

To help support multigenerational and functional literacy programs, education and support, we’d love for you to consider a monetary donation today — in any amount — to the NCFL. Now let me tell you why you should …

Wonderopolis is a program created by and driven by NCFL. It provides a Wonder of the Day in the form of a video and informational essay that enables both family literacy (parents engaging with their children daily to learn something new … to Wonder together) and in-school learning (teachers like Maria Caplin use it to engage classrooms around the Wonder of the Day) using the web and technology. The site was named one of the top 50 websites of the year by Time Magazine. It’s a creative use of new media to drive education and literacy — not just reading, but functional literacy in using technology as well — that is an important effort of the organization.

Your contributions can help drive Wonderopolis in 2013 as it expands to more in-school programming, mobile platforms and applications and builds a more robust library of Wonder for children, parents and teachers to use to learn together. We’re all social media folks, right? Let’s support this organization’s use of social media to further literacy, which I believe is at the core of what our society (U.S. and otherwise) needs to grow and be successful now and in the future. An illiterate world is not one that functions well. Let’s support Wonderopolis and NCFL with a small donation — $5, $15, $50, $100 — whatever your budget can accomodate will be put to good use. I’ll see to it!

I’d like to humbly suggest you donate $25 to support Wonderopolis and the NCFL.

Donate to NCFL

Any amount will do. I think $25 is fitting for us all. It’s the cost of a “treat yourself” lunch. You’re welcome to go lower or higher, of course.

And we already have an anonymous donor who will match the first $500 given through this online effort.

Literacy is at the root of a person’s ability to succeed, and the family is at the heart. Study after study shows that family, home and community are the true drivers of a child’s education. And adults learning along with the child makes for incredible success.

Join me and others on National Family Literacy Day and help the cause. Then go to Wonderopolis and learn something with your children!