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When I was a small child, I remember watching my mother read. She would often bring magazines or books to the dinner table while we ate. I remember her telling me once about how much she learned every time she opened a book and how it allowed her to go places and do things she would never be able to do. I started bringing Dr. Seuss’s book Green Eggs and Ham to the table so I could be like her.

Today, I continue to visit places I never would by reading, but even more importantly, I am able to not only participate in my community but function effectively in my daily life because I can read.

I often take for granted what I’m capable of because of reading. I have been moved by stories of the truck driver who was on the road for forty years and was unable to read traffic signs, like “yield” and the person who overdosed and died because she could not read the directions on her prescription. Literacy is a vital function. A recent article in the Commercial Appeal reported that Memphis was ranked as the most impoverished metro area in the country.

Nearly one in five of our citizens is below the poverty level. And we also know that one in five of our citizens cannot read. The livelihood of our community is dependent upon a literate population. Illiteracy goes hand-in-glove with poverty and results in higher crime, poor school performance, and an uneducated workforce (which then deters large corporations from locating here and bringing more jobs).

It is for these reasons that I accepted the request to chair the Board of Directors of Literacy Mid-South this year. And it’s an especially exciting time for this organization with a new dynamic Executive Director and a new direction that will help us forge ahead to make an impact on these staggering statistics, while making a huge difference in individual lives. I hope you will be as passionate as I am about this opportunity for change.

Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!