“The Tucson Region Literacy Initiative”

Literacy groups and community members will convene in a Tucson Region Literacy Initiative meeting from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 13, 2007, in the Crystal Ballroom of the Tucson Convention Center.

This meeting is the second community-wide "Follow-Up" event for the Tucson Regional Town Hall, and is hosted by the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona in partnership with the Literacy Leadership Council, the Tucson Area Literacy Coalition the Southern Arizona Leadership Council and the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

“Because literacy is so important, we are determining the best way to build a culture of literacy across greater Tucson, from the grassroots to the policy level,” said Steve Alley, president and CEO of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona. “We do have a lot of nonprofits and institutions that support literacy in Tucson, but now they are convening together to get input from our community-at-large on how to find solutions to empower more Tucsonans with the ability to read and write.”

The Community Foundation provided seed funding for and investment in launching the Tucson Region Literacy Initiative. Along with their partners, the Foundation built the Literacy Leadership Council (LLC), which is an independent, volunteer group of community representatives who will strategize, develop and execute a literacy plan, based on research and recommendations.

“For the work of the LLC to be successful and have an impact, all facets of the community must be committed to working together to address this vital issue of literacy,” Alley said. “It’s terrific that many community members and groups are emerging to share a leadership role in literacy.”

“This second follow-up event for Tucson Regional Town Hall is announcing to the community that greater Tucson is changing. By using the Town Hall as a vehicle for all community groups to share in a dialogue, we are making a public case that something new is happening,” said Peter Likins, chairman of the Tucson Regional Town Hall. “In this case, the literacy community is transforming, and with everyone willing to stand up and move forward, we expect to see a dramatic change in the area.”

Chairman Likins will launch the two-hour event with an introduction. Speakers will include
Steve Alley, Community Foundation for Southern Arizona; Chris Baker, Marketing Intelligence; Tomas Leon, Literacy Leadership Council and Betty Stauffer, Literacy Volunteers of Tucson.

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. To register go online to www.cfsoaz.org . For questions or more specific information on the event call The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona at (520) 545-0313.