Nonprofit Launches Campaign to Provide Tools for "Literacy First Responders"

Charlottesville, VA, September 04, 2015 --(PR.com)-- On Wednesday, August 26, nonprofit group The Reading Tub kicked off a crowdfunding campaign to develop a web and mobile application that will provide a wealth of literacy information, tools, and book recommendations to “Literacy First Responders”—the parents, caregivers, literacy specialists and educators that make a critical difference in reading skills development in children.

The Family Literacy Integration Project App (FLIP) will provide parent information and tools, professional literacy articles, links for educators, book reviews, an author showcase, and book lists for children of different age groups, as well as a repository of literacy facts and studies.

Literacy is a major issue for students in the U.S., where sixty-six percent of fourth graders scored “below proficient” on the 2013 National Assessment of Education Progress reading test, and eighty percent of students from low-income backgrounds scored below grade level.

“Too many students are not developing literacy skills, and it creates lifelong disadvantage,” said Terry Doherty, Executive Director of The Reading Tub. “We know that many of the most important factors in developing strong reading skills are related to the caregivers and educators in a child’s life. By providing usable, streamlined resources to those adults, our goal is to get more kids reading.”

Those interested in contributing to the campaign can find it at TheReadingTub.com, or visit it directly at http://ow.ly/QRT8H.

The Reading Tub is a Virginia-based nonprofit organization dedicated to improving literacy and getting books into the hands of at-risk readers. Although known across the children's lbook community for its book reviews, The Reading Tub’s primary mission is family literacy.

Volunteers publish articles with literacy-related ideas, curate a library with literacy information, and maintain recommended book lists targeted to “Literacy First Responders” –educators, literacy specialists, parents and caregivers. Reading Tub has distributed over 10,000 books, published more than 2,500 book profiles, and written and curated hundreds of articles on ways to make literacy an everyday part of families’ and children’s lives. Learn more at www.thereadingtub.com.