More than 55,000 adults who live and work right here in Dane County face major challenges with literacy. A high percentage live in poverty and those challenges with literacy hold them back from advancing in their jobs and in their lives and keeps them from increasing their contributions to their family and this community.
Literacy Network is a non-profit organization founded in 1974 in Madison. Staff, teachers, tutors, volunteers and donors work together to help adult learners improve their literacy in Dane County. They served more than 1,000 adults last year with the help of more than 800 volunteers who gave 30,000 hours of time. But Literacy Network Executive Director Jeff Burkhart knows they can do so much more. On April 28 at their annual Reading Between the Wines fundraising event, he announced a new capital campaign that will bring Literacy Network into a newer, larger building and help them serve more people.
“Our campaign has raised about $1 million so far,” Burkhart tells Madison365. “With this new push that started at Reading Between The Wines, we hope to raise another $2 million that will pay for the building’s renovation, technology installation and upgrades, and organizational capacity.
“I think it fits in with a lot of different initiatives in Madison,” Burkhart adds. “The Race to Equity report certainly highlights many of the challenges that we face as a community and how there are such great pockets of poverty in Madison that generally a lot of folks don’t know about. Certainly, south Madison is one of those pockets.”
Literacy Network’s current space is simply not an appropriate space to learn. If you were a realtor and you were trying to be as nice as possible, you’d probably try to describe the current Literacy Network space on South Park Street as “cozy.”
“I suppose you would, if you were trying to sell it,” laughs Burkhart. “But this space has been a real challenge for our organization. We’ve been here for 14 years now. The biggest issue for us is that it doesn’t afford our learners the dignity of actually being in a learning center. We’re in an old cheese shop and it’s way too small. It’s the challenge that we face and it’s been here ever since I started.”
Literacy Network help adults improve their reading, writing and English skills so that they may better achieve goals specific to their needs: read to their children, help with homework, fill out a job application, understand a medicine label, or speak with a doctor about a health concern.
“We do partner a lot with other organizations around Dane County. We have 28 different locations where we have programs. We want to continue to do that because I think it’s important to have programs in schools and libraries and community centers, hospitals and clinics,” Burkhart says. “There’s nothing about this [move] that’s going to negate that. But when you think about growing any partnership, we don’t have any space to house our staff and do planning for lessons. We don’t have room for another photo copier. We’re in a ridiculously small space for as much as we do. We serve more than 1,000 people every year.”
The new space will be at the old Wingra Clinic, kitty-corner from the Urban League of Greater Madison building and down the street from the Boys and Girls Club on Taft St. At approximately 11,000 square feet, it is almost four times the space of their current place and will have a dedicated library and child care space.
“It’s in a neighborhood that is definitely in great need. Twenty-six percent live in poverty in that neighborhood,” Burkhart says. “We know that there are a lot of folks who need our services who are not taking advantage of it right now. The estimates are that 1 in 7 adults in Dane County struggle with literacy. We know that this is a big issue, specifically in south Madison. It’s something that is very much needed.”
Moving a little over a mile south of their current spot on Park Street, Literacy Network will be in a great position to collaborate with the Urban League of Greater Madison, Boys and Girls Club, Centro Hispano, South Madison Library and other agencies within a block or two from their new place.
It shouldn’t take too long to finish remodeling the new building, Burkhart says. They are starting the construction today and it should be completed in late July.
“We should be in by August of this year,” he says. “It’s exciting, but it’s a little bit scary. But we’re moving forward. We’ve got a lot of renovation to do on it, but it’s a great building and the foundation is solid. It’s only about a 25-year-old building.”
The new campaign is, of course, about raising money, but it’s also about letting people know what the Literacy Network does and why it is so important. “There’s a lot of public relations involved in that but there’s also a lot of bringing in people and meeting them so they can see what we’re doing,” Burkhart says. “It’s not only about the work that we are doing now, but the opportunities that we have in the future.”
Last Thursday night’s Reading Between The Wines event was one of those chances to let the community know about all of the things Literacy Network does for the community. The annual fundraiser included wine, appetizers, and the opportunity to bid on fantastic silent auction items.
“We had so many great people at the event. It was a fantastic event. We were all inspired by the learners who read their works,” Burkhart says. “It was a great turnout. People are really excited about the campaign and want to be a part of it.’
Literacy Network’s next big event is “Busking for Books,” where more than two dozen musical acts will perform on every corner on State Street to raise money for adult literacy in Dane County. Originally scheduled for April 30, “Busking for Books” was moved to May 14, 1-3 p.m., because of rain this past weekend.
“Busking for Books is a great way to learn about what we do,” Burkhart says. “Musicians give back to support Literacy Network learners. It’s one of our signature events.”
A lot of Madison-area folks started out at Literacy Network and went on to do great things in the greater community. “We’ve shown that we are doing good work with many employers in Madison and helping people to better careers to support their families,” Burkhart says. “But it’s not just about jobs, it’s about supporting kids’ education. Our two-generation approach is to help the parents so the parents can help the kids.”
Literacy Network also helps people access the health care system. “They are learning about how to talk to a doctor, how to access primary care if they don’t have it, and how to have good nutrition in their household while still eating food that is cultural appropriate for them,” Burkhart says.
“We’re doing a lot of work on a lot of different fronts, and we can do so much more if we have this new space ready for us in August,” he adds. “I’m confident our community is going to step up. We just need to continue to let people know why it’s important.”
The big thing that is currently holding Madison from being a really fantastic city is all-around equity.
“In my opinion – and in the opinion of many people – educational opportunities are central to that,” Burkhart says. “If we don’t have folks who are struggling at the table and we’re not helping them to move forward, than our city is not great. Our city is still struggling. Our city doesn’t look at everybody through an equity lens. It’s really important that communities of color are involved in these communications. They are just as important in these conversations as the folks who work at Epic.”
