Read Muskegon…………. until everyone can read!
Have you seen our billboards? We have 4 around Muskegon!
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Literacy is defined as the ability to read, write, speak, compute, and solve problems at the level needed to function on the job, in the family, and in the community. Thirty million adults in the U.S. have a very limited ability to read and write or are not literate in English.
Literacy is a key indicator of quality of life. Poor readers are more likely to be unemployed, to live in poverty, and to have health problems and no medical insurance.
We are here to help!
Literacy Rates
1) The adult illiteracy rate for Muskegon County (population estimated at 173,951 by US Census Bureau in 2009) is 16.9%. It is estimated that between 22,000 (American Community Survey, 2008) and 36,000 adults in Muskegon County are functionally illiterate. This is enough people to fill the Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts more than 15 times!
2) Muskegon’s July 2010 unemployment rate was reported at 14%, which is above the state and national average. Half of all people who are chronically unemployed are not functionally literate.
3) Nearly 24,000 people in Muskegon County who are over 18 do not have a high school diploma. Over 100,000 do not have a bachelor’s degree. High school graduates earn approximately $7200 more annually than non-high school completers.
4) According to community colleges in Michigan, at least 60 percent of entering students require remediation prior to engaging in post-secondary education (MCCA.org).
5) One out of three working-age Michigan adults — 1.7 million people — lack the basic skills or credentials to attain family-sustaining jobs and contribute to the state’s economy.
Please browse our webpages to find out what we do and how you can help!
We’re on Facebook, too!
Our programs are made possible in part through grants from the Community Foundation of Muskegon County, the Greater Muskegon Service League, LARA (Michigan Office of Adult Education), the Gerber Foundation, Dollar General, along with support from the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District and the Muskegon Area District Library and private donors.
We appreciate our collaborative partners:
Muskegon Area District Library and the MAISD Great Start Collaborative.
Read Muskegon
PO Box 1312
Muskegon, MI 49443-1312
Phone: (231) 766-5040
E-mail: info@readmuskegon.org
