South Carolina consistently receives poor scores in regards to basic education and literacy. But many literacy service providers, educators, businesses, and other passionate volunteers are determined to break the intergenerational cycle of low literacy in our state.
The Literacy 2030 summit will take place on Saturday, October 16th at the main branch of the Richland County Public Library, from 10 am to 3 pm. At the summit, representatives from all over the state will collaborate to identify the top barriers to literacy in their areas, and create community action plans to address and overcome these barriers. By working together, and sharing information and resources, they aim to make South Carolina 100% literate by the year 2030.
"It's a pie-in-the-sky goal, but a necessary one. We can't afford not to make drastic improvements in literacy throughout the state," said Ellen Hinrichs, Executive Director of the South Carolina Center for Children's Books and Literacy, and member of the summit planning committee. "Literacy extends to all areas of a person's life; it's the key to independence and success, for individual people and for the well-being of South Carolina as a whole."
The Literacy 2030 summit was created after extensive research about the different literacy service providers and organizations already existing in South Carolina, in order to identify service gaps. What was discovered, however, is that there are plenty of organizations available to South Carolina residents in need of literacy help. Instead of a new program, what we desperately need is better communication and collaboration between existing programs.
The Literacy 2030 summit is made possible by a grant from the Central Carolina Community Foundation (CCCF).
Literacy 2030 is free and open to the public. Those interested in attending to represent the literacy needs of their community are asked to RSVP by October 11th to scccblusc@gmail.com.
For more information about the Literacy 2030 summit, the program partners involved, or the state of literacy in South Carolina, please contact Ellen Hinrichs at (803) 734-8207, or email her at ellenh@sc.edu or scccblusc@gmail.com.
