Since 2008, the Almanac Holiday Fund has invested in the work of Project Read which seeks to build a stronger and more literate community. Adult literacy impacts Menlo Park in many ways:

• Adults are able to find and keep better jobs with wages that sustain the family.
  
• Businesses are able to increase their productivity by employing more focused and skilled workers.
  
• Parents just reading to their children raises the literacy level of our next generation.

This year Project Read will receive a check for $15,700 to support the Belle Haven English classes (a major portion of the overall Project Read program). These classes focus on strengthening literacy foundation skills – reading, writing, and speaking – which are essentials for participating in today’s modern workplaces and contemporary life. Learners that progress through these classes are eligible for the one-on-one tutoring program (another arm of Project Read) which matches learners with trained volunteer tutors who provide individualized instruction. An example demonstrates the point – Teo, one of our English class graduates, was promoted at his workplace because of his English language proficiency and now he is studying with a tutor to prepare for the GED. He is using print and digital resources available to him through Project Read.