LitWorld is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded by literacy expert Pam Allyn in 2007 dedicated to strengthening kids and communities through the power of stories.
We believe that stories are humankind's greatest resource, and these stories are the key to creating social change. When kids have access to spaces where they are free to explore their identities, discover their strengths, and express their dreams, they become empowered to create lasting change in their lives, in their communities, and beyond. That’s why our award-winning, child-centered programs such as LitCamp and LitClub are designed to develop each of the 7 Strengths that are inherent in every child. These programs encourage self-expression, community, and confidence, using literacy as a tool and pathway for self-empowerment.
To scale LitWorld’s unique programming and pedagogy, we work with a strong network of national and international partner organizations who understand the unique language, culture, and needs of their communities. Together, we ensure that young people worldwide can experience the transformational joy of reading, writing, and storytelling.
The 7 Strengths
LitWorld's 7 Strengths (Belonging, Kindness, Curiosity, Friendship, Confidence, Courage, and Hope) are a core component in all of our work. Each one of these strengths is explored during LitClub or LitCamp sessions through stories and personal experiences that mentors and LitClub members share, providing a safe space for young people everywhere to reflect and exemplify these tenants within their own lives.
Our History
"Stories are more than a gentle escape. They are a life raft."
– Pam Allyn
LitWorld was founded in 2007 after Pam Allyn, literacy educator and author, visited Kibera, an area of extreme poverty in Nairobi, Kenya. There, she experienced the urgent desire children had to read, write and share their stories, and the barriers that stood in their way.
Inspired after her first visit to Kibera, Pam returned to New York and mobilized a group of friends and leaders to join her in building a new movement founded on this belief. They set out to create a community-based approach to programs and training that would lead to transformational literacy defined by dreams that can come true.
Over the next five years, LitWorld developed and launched the programs that stand today as the organization's core models: LitClubs, LitCamps, and World Read Aloud Day. The LitClub model of in-depth, out-of-school self-empowerment and literacy programming has allowed us to bring our innovative methods to communities across the world. LitCamp redefines summer learning through innovative, research-based reading and writing lessons with an engaging and interactive summer camp approach that reduces the “summer slide.” World Read Aloud Day calls global attention to the importance of reading aloud, sharing stories, and the idea of literacy as a human right by bringing communities together across the world to read aloud and change the world.
Literacy is not a gift given just to some lucky ones, it is a foundational human right that brings joy, economic independence, gender equity and a pathway out of poverty.