Kiwanis issues largest-ever grant to boost local literacy

The Jonesborough Kiwanis Club awarded a grant in the amount of $19,000 to the Washington County Schools Appalachian Literacy Initiative Program on Wednesday, April 22. The grant will help Grandview, Lamar, South Central and Westview in Washington County as well as Jeremiah School in Johnson City as they look to further improve literacy and reading interest among third, fourth and fifth graders. "Last year we had the Appalachian Literacy Initiative (ALI) in for a presentation," said Secretary Treasurer Glenn Walker. "During the presentation, we found out that no one in Washington County was being supported, so we got ahold of the schools and found out who was eligible." The funds come from the Northeast Tennessee Kiwanis Children's Charitable Fund. The fund was initially established in the 1960s and built up over $300,000 through the years which is now divided up through grants for different projects the club deems worthy. From here, Walker said ALI will visit each school that's a part of the program and examine the third through fifth grades and the need and number of books necessary for each school. ALI will then give out the books to each of the participants and make sure the students get what they need. The $19,000 award is something that Walker said is unprecedented. "This is the largest single grant we've ever given out," Walker said. "The largest we've ever asked them for is $2,500 and we've probably received a total of about $20,000 to $25,000 from them overall." Walker said that anytime the club gets an opportunity to give back, especially with a matter as important as literacy, it's something they're always going to try their best to do. He said that the model that the ALI uses is proven and makes the grant a worthy investment. The ALI says that early reading proficiency is one of the most critical predictors of long-term academic success and the students who are most often affected are those who come from low-income homes like the Title One schools eligible for the program.