The B4B Fund

Our Mission

The B4B Fund was created to give customers and communities we serve, a platform to help support local, national and global literacy initiatives. The B4B Fund partners with non-profit literacy organizations to help fund their efforts through book donations, monetary aid and raising social awareness.

The Scope of the Issue

Globally

The United Nations estimated that in 2000 there were 862 million illiterate adults in the world. In 2000, about 70 percent of the world's illiterate adults lived in three regions: Sub-Saharan Africa, South and West Asia, and the Arab States and North Africa. East Asia and the Pacific reported an estimated total illiterate population of 185 million. The Latin America and Caribbean region has an illiterate population of 39 million.

Women account for two out of three illiterate adults. In 2000, there were 236 million more illiterate women than men. The gender gap was more pronounced in the Arab States and North Africa and in South and West Asia.

In the U.S.

In the United States, the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) report, issued in 2005, estimated that 30 million adults function at the "below basic" level of literacy skill and 11 million adults are in the "nonliterate in English" level. Adults who were born in the United States may have poor literacy skills due to undiagnosed learning disabilities, growing up in poverty, childhood trauma or illness, inconsistent attendance at school, or inadequate instruction. Many have high school diplomas. Many more are dropouts.

The Impact of Literacy

Illiteracy and low literacy in adults can be linked to almost every socioeconomic problem in the United States and abroad. In the U.S., research indicates that low literate adults do poorly in the job market, lack the skills help their children be successful in school, are more likely to suffer from poor health, and are more likely to eceive public assistance. Globally, illiteracy contributes to poverty, child labor, the trafficking of women, the pread of HIV/AIDS, and human rights violations in developing countries.

- From ProLiteracy Worldwide