The mission of Northwest Literacy Foundation is to enhance youth literacy in the Puget Sound region of the Pacific Northwest by providing literature and resources to underserved communities.
Literacy facts
- In one typical high-poverty school in Seattle where over 80% of students are on free-and-reduced lunch, an average book in that school’s library is 24 years old (Seattle Times)
- Kids who don’t read proficiently by 4th grade are 4 times likelier to drop out of school. (Source: DoSomething.org)
- Children in families with incomes below the poverty line are less likely to be read to aloud everyday than are children in families with incomes at or above poverty. (Source: National Education Association)
- The more types of reading materials there are in the home, the higher students are in reading proficiency. (Source: Educational Testing Service)
- 1 in 4 children in America grow up without learning how to read. (Source: DoSomething.org)
- The national spending, per pupil, on school library books, is $10 a year (Source: School Library Journal)