24% of adults in Waterloo region don’t have the basic literacy skills they need to succeed.
You can be the key to unlocking their potential.
Your donation today funds TLG programs that build a better tomorrow for our community.
Low literacy contributes to cycles of poverty, homelessness and addiction in our community—and it’s not always easy to spot!
The 1 in 4 adults in Waterloo Region who struggle to read, write, do basic math or use computers, often go to great lengths to hide it.
They avoid jobs and situations where these skills are needed, and they pay for it, not just in their employability but with their health and well-being.
Low literacy is the root cause of some of our region’s most challenging social issues.
No adult chooses to have low literacy skills.
There are many reasons why someone grows up not knowing how to read.
It’s not about laziness. Undiagnosed childhood learning disorders, classroom anxiety, illness, injury and little access to reading due to intergenerational illiteracy all contribute. And the shame that comes with struggling to learn a skill that seems to come easily to others compounds the problem.
Some of our learners simply missed time at school, never caught up and spent their adult life avoiding the written word.
If you struggled with something wouldn’t you avoid doing it?
TLG’s trained tutors are ready to help
When someone is ready to take the brave step of asking for help, TLG’s trained tutors are ready to meet them. Our programming uses one-to-one and small group learning with a focus on practical goals and real-world situations.