National Coalition for Literacy

After the North Carolina Grassroots Advocacy Symposium held in fall 2009, advocates find strategic and innovative ways to move adult literacy advocacy initiatives forward.

Earlier this year, two organizations from North Carolina were awarded $5,000.00 Advocacy Grants from the National Coalition for Literacy: Reading Connections and Wake Technical Community College. The purpose of the grants is to support initiatives designed to build the capacity for adult literacy advocacy in the field and increase the impact of the Dollar General Presentation Series. To be eligible for an Advocacy Grant, applicants must attend the NCL/Dollar General Symposium held in collaboration with local and state planners.

Reading Connections, a nonprofit literacy organization in the North Carolina Piedmont Triad region, began their advocacy work by hosting a Piedmont Triad Lifelong Learning Summit. The Summit convened literacy stakeholders, representatives from local chambers of commerce, and educators to kick off a coalition-building campaign. As a part of the symposium, participants created strategic plans for advancing their vision for lifelong learning in their respective counties. In follow up, Reading Connections is hosting a live Webinar, June 2010, to organize a regional grassroots advocacy network of literacy advocates. Participants will explore how other adult literacy advocacy networks effectively galvanize the community and achieve their campaign goals. Literacy advocates will organize a grassroots network in the Piedmont Triad region and hook into local, state, and federal literacy advocacy initiatives.

Wake Technical Community College is collaborating with Business and Industry Services (BIS), Motheread, Inc., the State Employee’s Credit Union (SECU), and others, to design and implement a series of seminars. These seminars will teach adults the skills and tools needed to keep pace with the changes in technology and harness new media in order to advocate for adult literacy. The seminars are technology training designed to inform, inspire, and train community stakeholders to become advocates for adult literacy within their spheres of influence.

The symposia and advocacy grants are made possible through the generous support of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.