Our Story

Lifting lives through literacy for 60 years since our founding in 1963, Literacy Council volunteers have taught more than 9,250 Frederick County residents, helping them to gain critical reading, speaking English, and everyday life skills. Literacy and English proficiency help the 25,000 Frederick County adults who are at the lowest literacy level and the 29,000 adults with limited English language proficiency to qualify for jobs that pay a living wage to help lift their families out of poverty. Our services benefit English speakers who need help with reading and writing, and English language learners who need help with speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing. Success for the adults and families the Literacy Council serves rests on a collective community impact approach, working closely with partner employers and organizations. Our programs include Tutoring, Community Classes, Workplace English Classes with local employers, and Parent Literacy tutoring and classes for parents of young children in five elementary schools. Supporting parents is critical because children of literate parents are more likely to succeed in school, breaking the cycle of low literacy in families. This past year, more than 300 adults gained new everyday life skills, directly impacting the futures of 275 children.