Friends Of Literacy

Our mission is to support the delivery of free high quality literacy and related services to adults in Knox County who are inadequately educated for the challenges of daily life. Our goal is to help provide basic education and life-skill training so that our students become better workers, parents, and citizens.

Description:
Friends of Literacy is:
Private (not government operated)
Independent (not part of a school system)
Not-for-Profit
Local (Serving only Knox County)
Governed by a volunteer board of local corporate and community leaders.
Membership based (individual and corporate donations)
Supported by local, regional, state, and national foundations and granting agencies.

We support programs that offer year-round daytime and evening adult education classes. Historically we have concentrated our efforts on support of programs that provide service to the lowest literacy levels. In 2004 we raised our criteria to include National Reporting System Level IV. In effect, we provide support to adult students from non-readers to those who function at the equivalent of the eighth-grade.

History:
Since 1991 Friends of Literacy has been the voice of the illiterate. No other independent agency is actively involved in promoting and supporting academically based, state funded adult literacy programs within our county. Originally founded to supplement the funding of Knox County Adult Education, we now serve thousands of students through five separate program partners, and a new direct service literacy and GED program called Learn Now.

Contact people:

Melissa Nance, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Charlie Morgan, (phone), (email)

Address:

101 East Fifth Avenue, Room 217 Knoxville, TN 37917 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.friendsofliteracy.org

Last updated on September 24, 2009