Literature for All of Us
NLD ID #90690Contact Information
Chicago, IL 60660
Hours of Operation
9am - 5pm
Program Overview
Founded in 1997 by Executive Director Karen Thomson, Literature for All of Us has been committed to literacy growth and development through a unique, trauma-informed book group model. We believe that literacy is a basic and essential human need.
Literature for All of Us has grown from serving 15 low-income teen mothers, to serving nearly 700 participants this year and over 9,000 participants to date. Starting with a single book group, the organization now serves over 30 book groups in 14 schools and community organizations. Literature for All of Us book groups serve young adults living in under-resourced areas of Chicago and Evanston.
Please visit our website for more information: www.literatureforallofus.org
Cost Info
Annual budget between $500,000 and $1,000,000.Student and Volunteer Success Stories
"I grew up where you were made fun of if you were smart; where you were talked about and teased being called names...I was never told if college was important... Hiding my story was something that I was used to until I met Literature for All of Us."
-Book Group Participant
Leaving Home by Adrienne Scanlon-Rodriguez
I left with the idea
that there was greener grass
on the other side.
Soon as I shut the door on us,
I felt our invisible strings detach themselves.
I lay at night now hoping
you were right next to me.
How could I let things get this far? Will you ever forgive me?
Can I forgive me?
One day, I hope that we can coexist in this world
knowing that I did what I had to do for me.
I left to find who I needed to be.
Maybe for you.
Adrienne was a participant in our book group program last year at Simpson Academy for Young Women, an alternative school providing support to pregnant and parenting young women in Chicago.
Education services
- Read and write better
- Find a family literacy program