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Literacy DuPage provides free, customized English tutoring to help adult learners reach their life skill goals.
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Finding Family and Opportunity Through Literacy
Marti and Daniela met in 2018 at the Naperville library, just three months after Daniela moved to the United States from Venezuela for her husband’s engineering career. Daniela had tried to learn English growing up, but the classes were limited and difficult to understand. With no family or a support system in place, Daniela knew she needed to learn English to navigate daily tasks.
Read the full story here!
“Literacy DuPage, thank you so much for helping me. For opening your doors for me. For many students. With this opportunity we can feel comfortable learning.
And my teacher, I love her. I think she is the best tutor I could have found. She helped me a lot. She is like a mom to me here.”
Why is Literacy Important?
When learners improve their literacy skills, they can take control of their lives, support themselves and their families, and participate in their community.
Low literacy is defined as being unable to read, write, speak, compare and contrast, paraphrase, and make low-level inferences. All skills necessary to navigate life and complete daily tasks.
According to the 2022 American Community Survey, the population in DuPage County is 907,127 and includes:
53,162 adults who do not have a high school diploma.
70,756 residents living in poverty (2024 Federal poverty threshold for a family of four is $31,200).
250,805 residents that speak a language other than English at home and 87,614 speak English ‘less than well’.
The median household income in DuPage County is $99,577, while the average annual income of a family served by Literacy DuPage is $27,200.
Additionally, children of parents with low literacy levels have a 72% chance of achieving only the lowest level of literacy when they become adults, creating a cycle of illiteracy and poverty that can span generations.
Literacy DuPage works with low-income adults in DuPage County who read below the ninth-grade level or speak English at a beginning level to improve their basic reading, writing, or English language proficiency and reach their life skill goals.
Get Involved
Tutor
Tutoring is a fulfilling way to give back while also changing lives. No foreign language or teaching experience needed.
Donate
It costs approximately $200 to support each tutor/learner pair. Donate today to help change lives!
This project is made possible by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library (ISL), a division of the Office of Secretary of State, using state funds designated for literacy.
Support provided by DuPage Foundation.
Grant and Foundation Support - Thank You!
Illinois State Library, a division of the Office of Secretary of State
Colonel Stanley R. McNeil Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee
Guy A. and N. Kay Arboit Foundation
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DuPage Foundation
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Comcast
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Aurora Women's Empowerment Foundation
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Dollar General
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ProLiteracy
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Ecolab
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Nicor Gas