Montgomery, AL – America’s First Federal Credit Union (AmFirst) has once again teamed up with Better Basics and WVTM 13 in a three-part sponsorship initiative aimed at raising awareness and supporting literacy efforts in Central Alabama. This partnership is part of AmFirst’s ongoing commitment to combat illiteracy and provide resources for children in need.
Better Basics, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing literacy challenges, has highlighted some concerning statistics about literacy in Alabama:
- 16% of Alabamians struggle with illiteracy.
- 79% of low-income children enter kindergarten without full knowledge of the alphabet.
- Children living in poverty who aren’t reading at grade level by third grade are 13 times less likely to graduate from high school.
- 60% of low-income families do not have children’s books at home.
To help address these challenges, AmFirst is hosting a community book drive benefiting Better Basics through October 20. The donated books will be used by Better Basics teachers to help students improve their reading skills. Additionally, each child involved will receive a book to take home, helping to increase access to children’s literature in low-income families.
Community members can contribute by dropping off new children’s books at any Central Alabama AmFirst branch location. Earlier this year, a similar drive collected over 1,500 books for distribution to young readers in the region.
For more information on Better Basics and its literacy programs, visit betterbasics.org.
AmFirst, with 21 branch locations across 13 counties in Alabama, serves over 200,000 members and remains committed to supporting its community through meaningful initiatives like this one.
