Lit

Literacy

Literacy is the gateway to lifelong learning, personal opportunities and success. That's why one of Verizon Foundation's top priorities is to improve the literacy skills of children and adults.

Technology has revolutionized the way we live, learn and work. To reach their full potential, people need a level of literacy and education that is unprecedented. However, we still have a long way to go.

  • Approximately 50 percent of the nation's unemployed youth, ages 16-to-21, are functional illiterates. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
  • 46 percent of American adults cannot understand the labels on their prescription medicine. (Journal of the American Medical Association)

Verizon Foundation is investing in online resources, community-based initiatives and national programs that teach non readers to read and advance the complex skills necessary for educational achievement and job success in the 21st Century.

Providing Resources

Our goal is to advance student achievement through innovative technology that increases educator effectiveness at home, in the classroom or in the community.

  • Thinkfinity Literacy Network (TLN) - We have created this free, online resource for literacy instructors, tutors, teachers, librarians, parents and volunteers to give them the tools to advance literacy and learning. TLN provides a wealth of professional development courses, top-quality student materials, best teaching practices, hundreds of resources and educational content created by trusted and leading experts.
  • Verizon Life Span Literacy Matrix - This tool outlines literacy outcomes, appropriate instruments for measuring outcomes, and effective research-based practices that enable programs and individuals to increase literacy development across the life span.

Planning Strategically

Our goal is to facilitate cooperation and objective-setting in order to build more literate communities through effective literacy organizations.

  • National Literacy Summit.3 - Hosted by Verizon Foundation and its national partners on Oct. 15, 2007, the Summit convened nonprofit, academic and corporate leaders. Participants discussed and defined the requirements of literacy and learning in today’s competitive global economy and focused attention on the steps local literacy programs can take to become more effective in building learning communities.

Supporting Community Outreach

Our goal is to enhance student achievement by supporting strategic grassroots and national efforts that target improvements in reading and technology literacy and produce measurable results.

  • Lee y Seràs - The National Council of La Raza is using its $1 million grant from Verizon Foundation to expand and deliver an innovative program that builds early literacy skills among Latino children. The program is providing parents with the tools to be their children’s first teachers.