Tell Congress to Save Literacy Group Reading is Fundamental

by Sara Bernard · 2010-04-08 10:03:00 -0400
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The nation's oldest and largest nonprofit literacy organization, Reading is Fundamental (RIF), is being threatened with colossal federal funding shortages if Obama's proposed 2011 budget passes as is.

Founded in 1966, RIF provides free books and literacy programs to 4.4 million children and families across the nation. Flagship programs include Books for Ownership (free books for children from low-income families), Shared Beginnings (training for young parents in early-childhood literacy), and Running Start (a reading motivation program for first graders and their families).

80% of RIF's funding comes from the federal government  and has come without interruption since 1975. But the 2011 budget proposal cuts it off entirely, tossing RIF into a bucket of literacy programs that may or may not receive funding, depending on competitive grants that states will have to scramble to get.

If the feds want to see reading test scores improve so badly, then why cut funding to a massive, longstanding literacy organization that provides tools and resources to the underserved children who need them the most?

There's still time to tell the Senate to protect RIF! The deadline is Friday, April 9 for senators to sign RIF's "Dear Colleague" letter, a form email that citizens can sign and send via the RIF website. It's an easy couple of clicks — and might make a huge difference in a child's life.

Photo Credit: Reading is Fundamental

Sara Bernard is a former staff writer and multimedia producer for Edutopia magazine.
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