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A Special Message from LitWorld Founding Director Pam Allyn

Twenty years ago, we met children in Kenya who showed us the profound urgency of literacy through their joy in hearing a story read aloud. We met mothers in rural communities who overcame the stigma of HIV to form the first Moms LitClub, and young women in Liberia who used their new literacy skills to vote with their names instead of a thumbprint. In New York City, we launched what later became LitCamp, a summer initiative that brought long lines of mothers and grandmothers eager to enroll their children. Those were the early days. 

Today, we support students through LitClub and LitCamp models year-round. World Read Aloud Day is celebrated annually by millions on the first Wednesday of every February. Everything we do is grounded in the 7 Strengths, the signature framework co-created with my longtime thought partner, Dr. Ernest Morrell (1971-2026). 

As we look ahead, I invite you to join us in writing LitWorld’s next chapter: equipping young people with skills to achieve independence, success, hope, happiness, and resilience. This spring, in memory of Dr. Morrell, we launched LitWorld U alongside the University of Notre Dame and Vanderbilt University, inviting college students to apply their own critical literacy skills in service of their communities. Your support will help us continue Dr. Morrell’s legacy and spread this mission. 

We are also launching the Reach for the Sky Fund for LitWorld’s FinLitLabs, an innovative initiative designed to empower young people through literacy and practical financial actions. Your investment will help us maximize the impact of this fusion of literacy and personal finance, enabling young people to author their own lives with the resources they need to thrive.

We continue to share our thought leadership on the evolving nature of literacy as humankind’s greatest innovation, from the World Literacy Summit to our global institutes on the science of reading. Yet our impact is most felt at the grassroots level. When young people use literacy to meet the demands of these times, they gain essential tools for true independence. By honoring the purpose of literacy through their eyes, hearts, and minds, we continue to make literacy matter for them, for us, and for the world. 

Your support makes this work possible. Please join us in making our 20th anniversary year our most impactful yet.

With all my appreciation,

Pam Allyn

Founding Director

To send a donation by mail, make checks out to “LitWorld International” and send to the address below. If you would like to talk with us personally about a legacy gift or to underwrite a project, please contact us here.

55 Exchange Place, Suite 402
New York, NY 10005