Redwood Literacy

For four years, Redwood Literacy partnered with Lawndale Christian Legal Center to provide literacy instruction, mentorship, and a community of peers for court-involved young people on Chicago’s West Side. Many of these students had been passed from grade to grade without learning to read, but when they started working with us they advanced by whole grade levels. “Why didn’t they teach it this way in school?” was a common question. Students were building up their foundational literacy skills while nurturing a sense of belonging among friends who shared their struggles. Students who had been made to feel unintelligent and unworthy were finding their strength and attaining self-efficacy. And having a lot of fun. Emery is one of the most remarkable students we’ve served within our Redwood at Lawndale program. A young man in his early 20s, Emery began working with Redwood since the beginning of our Lawndale partnership, making enormous strides in his reading, spelling, comprehension, and self-esteem. As he progressed along his literacy journey, his instructors witnessed him blossom into a confident reader who believed deeply in himself. He showed up for every session with warmth, humor, and a steady motivation to invest himself and pursue the future he wanted. Our Lawndale program was sustained by one individual donor. When that money ran out, we looked everywhere for other sources of funding and got the same news from everyone: “Good work, but no.” This instruction is vital — teaching struggling young people to read and write is one of the surest ways to keep them out of harm’s way, to help them move toward safety, fulfillment, and independence. In addition to the instruction, the program thoughtfully removed barriers by paying participants a stipend to attend sessions, provided hot meals during evening sessions, and arranged Uber transportation to ensure safety and consistent attendance. If we want court-involved young people off the streets, we need to help them realize what they’re capable of and what’s available to them. Since we lost our funding, Emery consistently reaches out to Redwood staff to chat. During those talks, he always asks when the program will be starting up again. Though we’ve been hustling to find new partners, we haven’t had good news to share with him yet. This is where you can get involved. If you’re passionate about social justice and believe in the power of literacy, please consider partnering with us to support Emer. The tone of American life is not positive right now. Young people in underserved communities were struggling already — now they’re facing even more pronounced barriers, more ruthless disinvestment. But there’s still one reliable way to make good things happen in this nation: community. People investing in people. 100% of donations will go to funding a year of literacy intervention for court involved youth on Chicago's West Side. Emery will be the first one we call with the good news!