THE STORY SO FAR IMPROVING EDUCATION IN A CHILD’S EARLY YEARS IS A GAME-CHANGER Thanks to the generous support of our major partner, Portland Aluminium, our early Literacy Program has reached hundreds of children across the Glenelg Shire. Early intervention is critical, with the research showing that almost 90% of children who are poor readers in Year 1, remain poor readers in Year 4. Sadly these children are less likely to complete school, and more likely to enter into poverty later in life. United Way Glenelg is working to break the cycle, using a two-level approach to ensure: • communities in the Glenelg Shire have low-cost access to quality books, and; • disadvantaged kids are supported to develop their early literacy skills before it’s too late. With your support, we’ve helped hundreds of children get ready to read and together, we plan to do so much more.
Over the past year, more than 350 children have benefited from our high-impact literacy program, ensuring they’re school-ready, and on track to a brighter future. Coming from disadvantaged communities where as many as 22% of children who begin school without numeracy and literacy skills needed to keep up, the odds were stacked against them. Now they’ve got a chance to succeed. Since the launch of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in the Glenelg Shire, we’ve built partnerships with individuals, corporate, government and non-government agencies and communities to turn this into a highly successful program.