The Pursuit of Reading, Writing and ‘Rythmatic. ...Well… Maybe Not ‘Rythmatic.

by Lauren Richwine, Communications Specialist

Of the many things in life I enjoy doing voraciously, reading probably tops off the list and to me, libraries are some of the most amazing places on earth. All that knowledge and entertainment is free! Someone once told me that the people you meet and the books you read cause the biggest changes in your life from year to year. If that’s the case, imagine being 30 some years old and unable to read the warnings on the side of your Aspirin bottle.

It’s easy to forget living in a land as lush with wealth as America that there are still those adults among us who never mastered the art of reading and writing well. Sometimes these adults wear suits or work in the cubicle down the hall from you. But that’s not who they always were. Once upon a time he was a boy or she was a girl who had a hard time in school, chose to blow it off, or fell through the cracks. And now they’re just trying to blend in and get by.

The Literacy Alliance is working hard to help address the literacy issues facing our adults today. They work exclusively with adults and offer a variety of methods and forms of assistance. They recently had their accreditation with ProLiteracy America renewed and have been accredited through them for almost nine years. I put a call in to Brian Schlichtenmyer, Adult Program Manager at The Literacy Alliance, to learn more.

“ProLiteracy America is a national organization that helps with organizations like ours,” said Schlichtenmyer. “Being accredited through them provides credibility for us due to the rigorous standards that must be met in order to be accredited. ProLiteracy is the national advocate for adult education in the country and helps all of us by being the voice in Washington.”

All of the services that The Literacy Alliance offers are free and available for the taking. Schlichtenmyer stressed that it’s important for adults today to be aware of what their skill deficiencies are and be open to working toward building those weaknesses up. For some, that weakness just happens to be reading or writing. For more information on what The Literacy Alliance offers, visit www.fwliteracyalliance.org/one.html or call 260-426-7323.