Episcopal Charities

Education

• More than 20% of adults read at or below a fifth-grade level, far below the level needed to earn a living wage. (National Institute for Literacy, Fast Facts on Literacy, 2001)
• 60% of America's prison inmates are illiterate and 85% of all juvenile offenders have reading problems. (U.S. Department of Education)
• Approximately 50% of the nation's unemployed youth age 16-21 are functionally illiterate, with virtually no prospects of obtaining good jobs. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

One element links together the populations of juvenile halls, prisons, the unemployed, and those on welfare: illiteracy. As things stand, if the root causes of under-education are not addressed, these statistics will continue to grow and millions more people will be thrust into poverty. Where basic reading skills can be the determining factor between a successful career and poverty, it is essential that we address these issues. Episcopal Charities' Action Networks brings together volunteers from the five-county San Francisco Bay Area who are passionate about quality education for all, and want to work together for change.

Current Project Partners

WriterCoach Connection is a program of the non-profit organization Community Alliance for Learning. The program focuses attention on the importance of writing for students, teachers and administrators and brings community support for writing into the public schools. The program trains and coordinates volunteer writing coaches who work with students individually in secondary-school English classes.

Episcopal Community Services' Skills Center offers day and evening classes in literacy, basic education, and GED preparation to homeless and low income adults in San Francisco. Students attend small classes and can receive one-on-one instruction. Classes are open-enrollment; students can sign up anytime and be placed in a class right away. The Skills Center also partners with Jewish Vocational Services to teach basic computer skills classes.

Experience Corps Marin was established in 2007. The program offers adults 55 and older the opportunity to develop caring relationships with elementary and middle school students in Marin County during and after school. Members tutor one-on-one or in small groups, provide classroom assistance, and help out in after school programs. They support youth in reading and math, creative arts, and often develop programs for children based on their own unique backgrounds and experiences.

Los Ayudantes ("The Helpers"), since its creation in 2002 by concerned Silicon Valley residents, has become a vibrant community of local educators, professionals and activists working closely with teachers and administrators in the Redwood City Public Schools to provide English language tutoring and cultural literacy mentoring to Latino youth, ages 9 through 13.

Boys Hope Girls Hope helps academically capable and motivated children in need to meet their full potential by providing residential facilities and access to quality education through college. Boys Hope Girls Hope—International, which oversees 41 Boys Hope Girls Hope homes in 16 U.S. cities and 3 foreign countries, was incorporated in 1975, and opened its first home in St. Louis in 1977. Boys Hope Girls Hope—San Francisco Bay Area became incorporated in 1999 and began serving children in the summer of 2000, becoming the 28th home and 15th U.S. affiliate.