Gary Literacy Coalition counts on donations to give books to students
The power of reading across a lifetime is the driving force behind one local nonprofit. The Gary Literacy Coalition works to build reading skills among residents of the Region.
The coalition is in its 25th year of teaching people of all ages how to read with confidence, and gain the skills they will need for learning, for navigating health and financial systems, even for stress relief.
“It’s a life skill,” Executive Director Lori Johnson Kuykendall said about the ability to read. “The more you read, the better you will be at it.”
The coalition aims to make Gary a “reading city” and to help people in Gary and surrounding areas gain the reading knowledge they need for the workplace, for maintaining their health and for improving their lives.
According to statistics on the coalition’s website, more than 70% of local adults function at a “low literacy level,” and 33% of adults have less than a high school education.
“Our approach is age-inclusive,” Johnson Kuykendall said. “We do prenatal all the way to elderly, addressing literacy needs across a lifespan and encouraging families to participate.”
The Gary Literacy Coalition got its start when a local physician wanted to provide free books and literacy education to his patients at their well-child checkups from birth through age 5.
The budding coalition formed a chapter within the nationwide Reach Out and Read program to do this work and now partners with nine local physicians to help new parents build reading resources for their families.
“Our goal is to make sure that every family has an at-home library,” Johnson Kuykendall said, because families simply can’t read books that they don’t have. “We do use new books because we want kids to feel good about having a brand-new book as an opportunity and investment in our community.”
Since its beginnings with Reach Out and Read in the early 2000s, the coalition has expanded to serve tens of thousands of people throughout the years, Johnson Kuykendall said.
The organization runs on a budget between $100,000 and $200,000 a year, with one employee, four consistent office volunteers, a board of directors and dozens of volunteer readers who share stories and joy with classrooms each year.
Johnson Kuykendall has worked with the Gary Literacy Coalition for 20 years. She first was a partner, when employed at other organizations in the fields of literacy and education. Since 2019, she has been a staff member. She became executive director when the coalition reopened in 2021 after a seven-month closure during the pandemic.
Partnering with supporting organizations such as Centier Bank, Chase Bank, Gary Community School Corp., Gary-area public libraries and Methodist Hospitals also helps the coalition educate residents in health literacy and financial literacy. This way, Johnson Kuykendall said, people can learn the language and behaviors needed to build wealth and better understand diagnoses and directions from their doctors.
“Hopefully, we are also elevating the health of our community,” she said.
Another local partner, Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, recently donated $45,000 to help the coalition fund a new effort called the Pilot Community Reading Program.
Christine Rury, the casino’s vice president of human resources, said the program will involve targeted intervention in small groups. Literacy kits and instruction materials will be provided for up to 80 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The program also includes about 1,200 books that will be donated to students in further support of their increasing literacy.
“What they’re looking to do is to incorporate family engagement in literacy activities as well,” Rury said.
The new program will provide “direct-service tutoring” located at community centers where students are already spending time after school to avoid any transportation barriers, Johnson Kuykendall said. The personalized tutoring will help students overcome learning gaps that occur if they haven’t yet learned to read well.
“We’re very excited that we have dollars now to go in and actually do some real, direct service in our community,” Johnson Kuykendall said.
Hard Rock Northern Indiana is excited as well to continue its partnership with the Gary Literacy Coalition, which also involves volunteers from the casino’s Culture Club participating in three classroom reading events.
“We had volunteers sign up right away,” Rury said. “They love seeing the bright eyes of the children.” •
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