Walmart Associate Choice Program - 2011
Literacy New York (LNY) is honored to have been selected as one of the five New York State nonprofit organizations participating in the Walmart Associate Choice Program. We invite Walmart and Sam’s Club associates to learn about Literacy New York and our network of 36 local, community-based adult literacy affiliates.
We also invite you to explore the relationship between poor literacy skills and many other social issues. Literacy – the ability to read and write well, to understand basic math, solve problems and access and use technology – is essential if we are to eradicate poverty in the U.S., improve infant mortality rates, address gender inequality, improve the economy and help people keep jobs and get better jobs.
Without basic literacy skills, adults will struggle to reach their full potential as parents, community members, and employees. As the United Nations said in 2010, “Literacy is a fundamental human right and instrumental for the pursuit of other rights.” National reports and data reflect the intergenerational aspect of illiteracy and the role of low literacy skills as a barrier to individual life success and the overall vibrancy of neighborhoods and communities.
According to the National Institute for Literacy – literacy starts early. National studies show that 50% of a child’s intellectual development occurs before age 4 and more than half of the children born to low literacy skill parents will grow up with poor reading, math and problem-solving skills. Family literacy skills for parents, to help them help their children in school, are essential.
If the U.S. economy is to ever to fully recover from the economic downturn and reach its full potential, more than “90 million adults in this country who have extremely limited or limited reading and math skills” need the educational opportunity to improve their skills so they can find employment, retain jobs and find better jobs (U.S. Adult Literacy Programs – Making a Difference).
These same 90 million Americans with low literacy skills have difficulty understanding prescription drug instructions for themselves and their children, medical insurance and billing information, and preventive health guidelines. Immigrants, low income families and people with disabilities, according to many reports, are much more likely to have health literacy issues.
The National Assessment of Adult Literacy Survey (2003) reveals that over 20% of the U.S. adult population is “below basic” level in quantitative/ math related skills: balancing a checkbook, completing an order form, determining the amount of interest on a loan, and understanding comparison shopping and how to make informed decisions, etc. Without better financial literacy skills, adults with low math skills can easily become the victims of fraud and struggle with financial issues their entire lives.
While basic literacy, workplace literacy and job skills, health literacy, and financial literacy are all equally important, Literacy New York (LNY) – through the Walmart Associate Choice Program – seeks to focus on financial/consumer literacy. Through this project, LNY will address the lack of basic skills that significantly impact an individual’s ability to be a smart consumer. LNY believes that basic math and literacy skills can help adults read and compare product information and make the best financial choices – for themselves and their families.
Why Vote for Literacy New York
For over 35 years, the LNY state administrative office has provided training and technical assistance to develop and build the organizational and programmatic capacity of volunteer-based literacy providers across New York State. Annually, our network of 36 affiliates from Long Island to Buffalo and the Southern Tier to the North Country – 55 counties in New York – serves more than 6,200 adult learners and utilizes the services of over 6,500 volunteers who provide tutoring and administrative support.
The need for literacy services in New York is monumental. More than 2.7 million adults have low literacy and language skills and fewer than 10% are being served. In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of English language learners (immigrants, refugees, second language learners) seeking our services. Each year, LNY impacts and changes the lives of thousands of learners, but we need to reach more of those in need.
LNY would use the Walmart Foundation Associate Choice Program grant to develop and implement a Smart Consumer Literacy Program – specifically focused on low reading/math level adult students. LNY would develop and provide training and materials for tutors to work with their students to become more literate consumers. By combining financial literacy and basic literacy into this instructional program, Literacy New York believes that adult students will learn the skills they need to be smart consumers and better readers, and have fun doing it!
What’s Unique About the Smart Consumer Literacy Program Approach
Fifty percent (50%) of any grant award will be utilized to purchase $25 Walmart gift cards. Walmart cards will be given to student and tutor pairs to practice and demonstrate their newly learned skills: from developing shopping lists to comparison shopping to sales and coupon information, and finally, purchase. These gift cards will help the students, many of whom are low income earners, and will help the local economy.
The balance of the grant award (50%) will fund the development of the Smart Consumer Literacy Training – available as both an onsite tutor training and in a webinar format. The webinar, distance learning training will provide broader dissemination across NY State, and potentially nationally. Only students and tutors recruited to participate in the Smart Consumer training and project would be eligible for the Walmart gift cards. The project will be evaluated and Information gathered to show the impact of this training and program.
The importance of Literacy New York’s work can be found here:
Changing Lives – Student Stories
Making a Difference – Tutor Stories from Across NYS
LNY History and Current Situation
Information about an LNY affiliate in your region of NYS can be found here:
Affiliates of NYS
If you have questions or need more information, contact Janice Cuddahee, Interim Executive Director at 716/ 651-0465 (cuddahee@aol.com) or Chip Carlin at 607/ 273-0634 (ccarlin@literacynewyork.org).
