Educational issues in America

Although we are a highly advanced nation, America still has educational issues in its society. In the following DoSomething article linked below, interesting facts about some of the educational issues and statistics are revealed. For example, did you know that  1 in 4 children in America grow up without learning how to read?Or that over 70 percent of America’s inmates cannot read above a 4th grade level.

Today's Readers Tomorrow's Leaders (TRTL) is trying to help solve these educational problems. If you want to help us improve education, then volunteer with us today! Go to our website for the volunteer form: (tomorrowsleaders.webs.com).

If you're interested in the DoSomething article, check it out here:
 http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-literacy-america

Image source: www.minutewomen.net

Illiteracy still exists

Illiteracy still exists in the current world today. Lack of proper educational resources and poverty are some of the prime causes for illiteracy. Check out the image below to see illiteracy rates per country

Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) in Washington D.C

Today's Readers Tomorrow's Leaders (TRTL) has recieved the Disney's Friends for Change grant for Spring 2013. As part of the grant, we are hosting Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) in Washington D.C! It's on April 27th from 11am - 2 pm. We still are looking for volunteers, so if you guys want to volunteer than contact us! If you guys are interested about volunteering, then heres some more information about our event:

"At West End Library, Today's Readers Tomorrow's Leaders (TRTL) will be holding a GYSD event to encourage literacy and education. We will be reading children's books to children, making book marks, making care packages, and coloring! We will also be holding a book donation stand where people can drop off their old books, in which we will ship these books out internationally to schools we have contacted. Join us to support us!" If you are interested in volunteering, email our contact person at our GYSD project site: http://www.gysd.org/10768/today_s_readers_tomorrow_s_leaders

Disney's Friends for Change Grant!

Today's Readers Tomorrow's Readers (TRTL) is happy to announce that we have received the Disney's Friends for Change grant! As part of the grant, we will be hosting Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) April 27th! More details to come soon on that! We will be using the grant for our current programs which we will be hosting during our Global Youth Service Day event! We will also spend it on shipping books outside of the United States to schools that we have partnered up with!

About the Disney Friends for Change grant: "Disney Friends for Change Grants offer young change-makers an opportunity to receive a $1,000 grant to help make a lasting, positive change in the world.
Whether you are passionate about protecting the planet, providing meals to those who need them, or giving kids just like you the resources they need to star in their own play, be an athlete or an artist, you can be a Friend for Change!  Whatever your interests, a Disney Friends for Change Grant can help you make a difference for people, communities and the planet."

For more information go to the website: http://www.ysa.org/grants/disney-friends-change-grants

Read Across America Day

For some people, tomorrow is just an ordinary Saturday, but it is actually far from it. Tomorrow, March 2nd, is Dr. Seuss's 109th birthday! In celebration, the National Education Association sets the nearest weekday to March 2nd to be Read Across America Day, a holiday which promotes reading all over the country, especially for elementary aged children. This year, Read Across America Day falls on March 1st, which is today.

Every year, over 45 million adults and children participate. How is this holiday celebrated, you ask? Well, many different ways exist. Participants are urged to read a book, which can be anything from Seuss to Shakespeare, either to themselves or to a child. The purpose of this event is to encourage all Americans, especially youth, to read.

If you are looking for more information, check out the National Education Association website.

Need a book to read? You can download a Dr. Seuss book right on your smartphone! All Seuss e-books are 25%-75% off this week, so get them while they are cheap!

In the words of the famous Dr. Seuss, "You're never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child."

Who are we?

Hello all! Welcome to Today’s Readers Tomorrow’s Leaders’ blog. TRTL is a company dedicated to spreading literacy around the world, one book at a time. And everything comes from the joint efforts of teenagers from all across the nation. Yes, teenagers.

Here’s what we are passionate about: 

EDUCATION

We believe that every single person (regardless of gender, race, or ability) deserves the gift of an education. Literacy leads to more opportunities, better lives, and brighter futures. Yet, around “30 million Americans over 16 years old cannot perform simple and everyday literacy activities,” according to dosomething.org. And that number is even larger in other underdeveloped countries. This is why we are determined to improve education and literacy around the world.

How are we going to do it?

Books. Lots and lots of books. Not just regular reading books but also educational books such as textbooks and workbooks. We will hold book drives everywhere, like in our schools and in our communities. These books will be sent off to different donations centers and school around the country and around the world.

Internet. In this Information Age, there are other untraditional ways to spread literacy, such as the Internet. That means ways like making audio books, writing educational packets or making a blog which can be put on our website so anyone, around the world, can access these valuable education materials as long as there is computer available. We also plan on raising money to buy tablets and laptops to send to poor schools so they too can have internet access since the Internet provides a plethora of knowledge.

Community. We are a community, reaching out to other communities. As of now, we are a tightly-knitted group of almost a hundred enthusiastic teenagers making a difference throughout the country. We help orphanages, schools, homeless shelters, libraries, and anywhere else where help is needed. And to create a stronger community, we are starting a pen pal program with schools outside the country to develop stronger relations with these less fortunate students and understand them better.

What is this blog for?

This blog is a way of recording our journey to improving literacy around the world and anything else related to literacy. This was just an introductory post. In the future, you will see posts entirely different, on different topics, by different people. Hopefully you will enjoy the ride.

For more information on Today’s Readers Tomorrow’s Leaders and Youth Literacy Initiative, go to www.tomorrowsleaders.webs.com or www.literacy-initiative.org! Make sure to sign up as a volunteer if you are interested in helping and share your ability to read!

Thank you for reading.

Spread the word. Spread the books. Spread the love.