Cape Fear Literacy Council changing lives by teaching adults how to read
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — While most people have literacy skills, a surprisingly high number of people across the Cape Fear lack these skills and are either unable to read or have extreme difficulty doing so.
Since its formation, the Cape Fear Literacy Council (CFLC) has recruited, trained and certified approximately 2,000 volunteer tutors, and has donated thousands of hours helping adult learners across the region.
Alan Perry, owner of Perry’s Emporium in Wilmington, served as a CFLC board member for 22 years.
“I’ve always had a passion for literacy because my father never got past the second grade and he didn’t ever really learn how to read,” Perry said. “This is something I’ve always been passionate about.”
Perry says an estimated 50,000 people living in Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick counties are unable to read.
“We still have a great need here for literacy and we have a great need for volunteers,” Perry said. “We need people who are moving here who have retired to come to the Cape Fear Literacy Council and help us get some adults to learn how to read.”
To generate funds to sustain CFLC’s operations and programs, the nonprofit plans to host its 10th Annual Literacy Luncheon on Tuesday, June 25, from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at Pine Valley United Methodist Church in Wilmington.
The keynote speaker will be prize-winning novelist and screenwriter Mark Ethridge.
In addition, there will be a presentation by the CFLC Reader’s Theater (pictured) which is a popular interactive program in which performers read from a script to interpret a text for an audience.
The presenting sponsor is Live Oak Bank and they have agreed to match every sponsorship and donation for the luncheon up to $25,000.
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