Annual campaign
50 years of adult literacy
2024 was the 50th anniversary of the Kalamazoo Literacy Council providing free, critical literacy and language skills to adults who struggle to read. We remain as passionate and steadfast as ever about serving those who need us and we offer deep gratitude for the many donors, volunteers, and partners who have supported us through the decades.
Related: Stories of volunteer service and adult learner excellence
Our in-person and online programs strengthen reading, writing, spelling, and comprehension skills for native English speakers and English Language Learners. We believe everyone deserves access to quality adult literacy services that empower them to reach their full potential.
2025 Literacy Advocate of the Year

June Miller Legacy Award in Literacy

Our Impact: Supporting the Resilience of Parents
Parent Literacy Together is a multi-generational learning initiative that helps parents improve their literacy and language skills so they can help their children and families succeed. It connects parents who are reading at a low grade level to existing family literacy and child literacy programs and prepares them to be successful “first teachers” of their children.
The KLC engages parents of school-aged children with weekly in-person and online classes. We also offer outdoor learning in the Read and Seed Community Garden and Interpretive Learning Center, located at Goodwill Industries of Southwestern Michigan. Through this partnership, KLC parents of children ages 0-4 have access to free childcare in the Little Scholars Child Development Center. KLC parents also have access to our Workforce Literacy instruction for improving job skills, as well as Health Literacy, Financial Literacy, and Digital Literacy to improve the well-being of every household. We proudly serve these learners with a faculty of more than 200 trained volunteers.
Gilmore Foundation 1:1 Match
Thanks to the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, new contributions or increased contributions from last year will be matched dollar-for-dollar. We encourage you to make a gift to the 2023 Everyone Needs to Read Annual Campaign and help us take advantage of this wonderful gift.
In Kalamazoo County, more than 25,000 adults struggle to read.

Every Contribution makes a difference
- $75 provides training materials and workbooks for one tutor and one student.
- $150 provides annual subscriptions (newspapers, books, and magazines) for 10 adult learners.
- $300 trains three volunteer tutors to begin literacy instruction.
- $750 provides scholarships for 10 tutors or instructors to attend training workshops to sharpen their skills.
- $1,000 funds the annual costs for materials, assessments, and instruction for 10 adult learners.
- $2,500 funds the books and supplies for a Community Literacy Center that can serve 25 learners annually.
- $5,000 funds the online academic instruction and in-class tutoring support for 50 adult learners annually.

Supporting tutor and student needs
The KLC provides free books and supplies to students and tutors so everyone who wants to learn how to read has the materials needed to take that very important step. Each tutor/student matched pair uses $100 annually in books and supplies.
$20,000
will be used to support 200 matched pairs.
Working Together
More than 30 organizations are working together as part of the Adult Literacy Collaboratives (ALC) of Kalamazoo County to ensure every adult has the educational level and skills to be successful at work, at home, and in the community. This group unites adult education, workforce development, literacy service providers, business, and other organizations to support the cause of adult literacy and is convened monthly by the KLC. Contact us for more information on the ALC.
$2,500
will be used to support the ALC.

Funds will support Parent Literacy Programs.

Workforce Development
Everyone needs to read to get a job. The JOBS Program strengthens critical literacy skills for the workplace.

Early Childhood Ed
Everyone needs to read to help their children learn. 186 parents study with the KLC and our "Parent Literacy Together" class helps parents and children can both enjoy learning.

Healthcare
Everyone needs to read to manage their health. Our "Read and Seed" Health Literacy Course helps learners make healthier decisions for their families.

All learners should have access to quality literacy services that empower them to reach their goals.
Everyone
needs
to read

Lyda Stillwell, Volunteer Tutor and Assessor

Von Washington Jr., The Kalamazoo Promise

Mary Doud, Kalamazoo Public Library

Kalamazoo Literacy Council is a member organization of ProLiteracy.