Celebrate National Readathon Day!

Mark your calendar for the first-ever National Readathon Day. On Saturday, January 24, you can join readers across the country who will be reading in solidarity for literacy from noon to 4 p.m. (in your own time zone). National Readathon Day is partnered with FirstGiving.com, with all money raised going to the National Book Foundation's projects to improve literacy and reading proficiency for millions of Americans who lack basic skills. At the most basic level of participation, all you need to do to is pick a book and read it on January 24. But there are also local readalong events, and you can also make a donation, create a fund-raising team on FirstGiving.com, or host your own "reading party."

Many Americans fortunate enough to have benefited from a good education may be unaware of how much of a problem illiteracy remains. According to a study conducted in 2013 by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, 32 million adults in the U.S. can't read, or 14 percent of the population. In addition, twenty-one percent of adults in the U.S. read below a 5th grade level. Even worse, the current literacy rate isn't any better than it was 10 years ago. 

So, on January 24, read a book and consider making a donation to FirstGiving or other literacy organizations in your area.