(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of a periodic series of blog posts designed to shine light on the problem of illiteracy in our schools. We hope you will be moved enough to want to be part of the solution, either through donating your time and skills or through financial support to Coaching for Literacy or any of the groups listed at the bottom.)
On a late-winter afternoon about 10 years ago, I stopped at the rented house of one of my AAU basketball players to pick him up for practice. The day had become too cold and too dark, as Memphis winter days often can be. Soon, more than the day fit that description.
As he settled into my SUV for the ride, I casually asked, “So, anything interesting happen today?”
His matter-of-fact answer startled me and required explanation.
“Well, an hour ago, I had a gun stuck to my head.”
The ensuing explanation didn’t help my understanding. His mother, who wrestled with drug addiction, had sublet two rooms of the rental house to a pair of drug dealers. That afternoon, the police had raided the house to arrest the dealers and when they entered, they pointed a gun at the head of the young player, touching his temple with the weapon, and ordered him not to move. He didn’t. And the arrests went off without injury.
As shocked as I was by the story, the nonchalant retelling has stayed with me to this day. It wasn’t the first drug bust and arrest in his world, nor would it be the last. To him, it was filed under “something interesting.”
No one deserves to grow up where this is the normal part of day. Those were his days. And it made me want to fix it.
***
Coaching for Literacy was started in 2012 because of one belief and one desire.
The belief: Public education had become the social injustice of our day.
The desire: To increase the percent of American third graders who read at a proficient level.
Now, the explanation: Studies show that 64 percent of our nation’s third-grade students don’t read at a proficient level, a statistic that would result in the shuttering of businesses showing the same success level. Of the children born into poverty, two-thirds of those who can’t read at grade level by the end of third grade will eventually go to prison or be on welfare at some point.
Is it possible that we are building prisons based on third-grade test scores? What would happen if we used that money to bolster our education system?
And then, the hope: Of the children born into poverty but who CAN read at grade level by the end of third grade, 89 percent will graduate from high school and hold a job.
Statistically, there is virtually no success-rate difference based on where a child is born, according to the Bureau of Labor. Therefore, the children who lag behind simply are victims of the worst possible luck. They were born in the wrong zip code.
What does that mean, exactly? This tells it far better than we could.
But is that the end of the story? It shouldn’t be. It doesn’t have to be. And it won’t be if people with the skill set, volunteer spirit and financial wherewithal get involved.
Coaching for Literacy exists to bring attention to the problems associated with illiteracy and raise financial resources to aid those children. We are doing great work and have a goal to be America's leading literacy organization in the next decade.
It would be an honor to add you to our roster of those who want to make a difference through Coaching for Literacy. But there are many organizations that dedicate themselves to finding and being involved in the solutions to the literacy problem. If you want to volunteer to help or wish to make a donation, they will be glad to have you too.
We can make a difference.
***
In 2017, I sat at breakfast with the player whose “normal” day seven years prior had shaken me so. He was one month from graduating from college. It had been a long road, a difficult road.
I asked him if he wanted a party.
He said, "No, Coach, I don't need a party."
My response was to ask him if he knew the chance Memphians born into poverty have of escaping it. He guessed 20 percent. Much as I had been shocked at his story seven years before, he was similarly surprised when I told him the chance of escape was 3 percent.
He had started life with a 3 percent chance to escape poverty and was a month from being 95 percent certain that he and his family would never again live in poverty.
We not only CAN make a difference. We owe it to everyone that we try. And we need your help.
Donate Today:
Coaching for Literacy uses the power of sport to raise awareness about the issues stemming from illiteracy and donates funds in support of literacy for students in grades K-3.
Volunteer to be a Tutor or Mentor (Memphis):
Literacy Mid-South: it takes the work of our community to achieve our mission to provide literacy resources to learners of all backgrounds and ages.
STREETS Ministries: become a STREETS Smart volunteer and share the love of books once a week with an eager second grader.
ARISE2Read: takes an active role in the development of children in our public schools through the presence of volunteers focused on literacy.
JIFF (Juvenile Intervention & Faith-Based Follow-Up): breaking the destructive cycle of juvenile crime through Christ centered interventions.
Advance Memphis: empower adults in South Memphis to break cycles of unemployment, establish economic stability, reconcile relationships, and restore dignity through knowledge, resources, and skills by the power of Jesus Christ.
Contact Shelby County Schools or an elementary school in your neighborhood.
Not in Memphis? Find a worthy organization to volunteer your time and talents by searching VolunteerMatch or All for Good.
***
John Wilfong has been the chairman of Coaching for Literacy since our founding. A University of Memphis basketball player and standout at Briarcrest Christian School, Wilfong is a graduate of The University of Memphis and a recipient of an MBA Degree from The University of Memphis School of Business. John is a lifelong Memphis resident, married to Catherine Wilfong and has three children: Jonathan, Bennett and Luke. John is involved in philanthropy through multiple avenues including Streets Ministries and Third Millennium Ministries. Want to get in contact with John? Click here.
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