Classic Kia is Celebrating International Literacy Day: Ways to Help Our Community and Literacy Charities That Need Our Help

Sep 8, 2022

Today is International Literacy Day! We’re celebrating this important holiday, created in 1967 and supported by UNESCO, by sharing a list of amazing organizations and charities who support Literacy as a Human Right. More than 770 million people around the world are lacking in basic literacy skills, but you can help change that by donating to funding efforts or sharing your time through volunteer efforts!

Through combined efforts of community outreach, charitable giving, active volunteerism, and advocacy work, UNESCO aims to promote accessible learning and increase resources to those who need it most. This year’s theme is Transforming Literacy Learning Spaces, and focuses on creating quality, equitable, and inclusive learning education environments for all. With many schools and education systems disrupted by pandemic related issues over the last two years and change, access to school and literacy education has been lost or interrupted for so many vulnerable people.

Check out these wonderful local organizations that promote Literacy and Reading in our community:

Here’s a list of different ways that you can support Literacy efforts at home and in your community. Let’s help improve the lives of children and adults everywhere!

Reading with Children:

Start reading to kids at an early age. Fostering a love for reading can begin as early as infancy! Reading books to young children can encourage them to be more interested in books. Inviting them to participate in easy tasks such as looking at pictures and describing them, pointing out what they see, holding the book for you to read, and even turning pages can help them connect with books and reading in a positive light.
Turn on the subtitle and captioning function for movies and television programs at home, to help children connect words and descriptions to the verbal dialogue and actions on screen, especially if they’re learning English as a multiple/second language.
Establish a read-aloud routine with the children who are in your care. Creating a specific time (or times) every day as a set scheduled story time can help children look forward to reading, and create healthy patterns and habits. Kids love predictability and thrive on routine, and having at least 2 read-aloud time slots to look forward to can engage them with books and stories in a meaningful way.
Engage in “See-Show-Say” strategies for early learning and childhood development, and highlight different vocabulary words as a focus of each story and read-through.
Allow children to choose the books and stories you’re reading, and put at least one of their all-time favorite books in heavy rotation during your sessions! The more excited children are about what content you’re reading, the more likely they are to participate, engage, and pay attention.

Reading with Multilingual and English-Language-Learning Speakers:

Offer ELL students one daily lesson with English vocabulary, and highlighting the structure and style of English Language, and encourage them to engage with content through verbal responses and answer questions at least one time each during each reading/learning session.
Note that English language learners may require five years or more to catch up to fully fluent English-speaking students, so be patient, empathetic, and affirming in their positive steps forward.
Encourage students in a class or workshop setting to engage with their peers through writing, peer-critique and feedback, and read-alouds in small groups.

Increasing Access to Reading and Literacy at a Community Level:

Help communities and schools provide screen readers, assistive listening devices, captioning, and other accessibility resources to disabled, hard of heating, and blind individuals.
Create and maintain a “Little Free Library” in your neighborhood or community, and make sure it is stocked with reading materials for all levels. Include some phonics/comprehension and English Language Learning materials to increase accessibility. Include large-print books to help comprehension, as well as accessibility for those with limited vision or difficulty reading fine print. Include wordless picture books to encourage storytelling and reading comprehension even if a person or family does not speak English fluently
Donate books to local school libraries and classrooms, and ask local teachers and school librarians what books they have on their wishlist. Include books that are multilingual, bilingual, and feature diverse protagonists to encourage new readers or new ELLs to engage and connect with stories.
Volunteer your time to reading of stories at local schools, libraries, family shelters, youth groups, and hospitals.
Volunteer your time and patience to tutoring efforts for ELLs and new readers to gently and enthusiastically encourage them to continue learning outside of the classroom.
Support local legislature that funds libraries, supports public schooling, funds summer reading programs, and other organizations that provide free learning tools and opportunities to the community.
Donate your time and money to support local and international charities who provide learning resources and reading materials to underserved, marginalized, and underrepresented demographics around the world.

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