Literacy Chicago

Literacy Chicago focuses on being an integral part of the path their students are on to transform their lives, and their shared goals range from work related to community involvement, but education is the hub. Through their academic partnerships, they are able to hold classes off-site in several communities. Through peer collaborations, they are able to refer students and serve as a referral so that individuals with low literacy skills can access medical, legal, or civic opportunities as needed.

Literacy Chicago is also a people-focused organization. Just as their instruction targets individual needs, so do all of their programs and committees. They believe that not only do they serve the community as a resource, but that each individual’s goals should be integrated into their larger charge as an organization. They are proud to connect students and volunteers, committee members and board members, and these same groups with the greater community. It is their goal to inspire the many faces of adult literacy—from the staff to the students to the volunteers—to interface with the vibrant city of Chicago and its surrounding communities.

The students of Literacy Chicago, are quite simply their reason for existing. Beyond this, they are a consistent source of inspiration for staff, volunteers, and visitors, demonstrating types of courage and commitment that many of them don’t get to witness elsewhere in their lives. Their students understand quickly into their time here, that language and literacy can transform them forever. Many find their way off of public payrolls for the first time in their lives, many develop skills to take home and share with the children in their homes, and many go on to college. Some have come back as tutors for their programs. Above all else, it’s the gratitude students show for their classes and individualized help that keeps them steadfast in their service to them.