What We Do:

Our founder, Dr. Jennifer Wilson was taken from us through a senseless act of domestic violence in 2011.  However, we remember her as the remarkable and creative woman who crafted A Chance through Literacy, this non-profit organization that gave form to her vision of equitable educational opportunities for girls and women. Through her imagination for and belief in providing possibilities for women and girls around the world, A Chance through Literacy was born om 2009 and has been able to provide support to many across the last decade.

For example, Dr. Wilson approved our first two individual recipients, Putu in Indonesia and Lilian in Kenya.  Putu pursued her education in the hospitality field and currently works at a hotel in her community. Lilian recently completed her undergraduate work and is teaching science at a high school in her village.  A Chance through Literacy supported Barbara and Anne, both from Kenya.  Barbara recently finished medical school and Anne completed a business school degree so that she could open a bakery in her home town. Fen Xin, a Chinese recipient, was able to finish school, and Maryamawit and Kalkidan, our youngest recipients, have been able to attend school in Addis, Ethiopia, to help prepare them for the competitive entrance to high school.

In the last decade, A Chance through Literacy has also provided support to educational agencies around the world, for example PAYDA in Istanbul, Turkey, that funds female students.  We also gave culturally relevant books to Partners in Literacy who built a library in the small village of Cange, Haiti.  We provided funds to The American School of Warsaw that provided books and materials to two different refugee organizations outside Warsaw. With the help of A Chance through Literacy, students from this school worked with women and children in the refugee centers to select and locate books from their home countries and in their home languages. We have also provided books to programs and schools in the United States. Lansing Alternative School (Michigan) received young adult books for a student Book Club, and Danville High School (Illinois) was able to provide books and host a monthly “Donuts and Books” in order to engage students who previously were not reading, and Jackson Elementary School (South Carolina) was able to purchase books to add culturally relevant materials to the library to reach their growing immigrant population. A Chance through Literacy was also able to provide Spanish language/bi-lingual books to children who were being held in detention centers in 2019 along the Texas border as well as many young adult books for students at The South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice.

We have much work to do, and we ask that you consider donating to A Chance Through Literacy. With your support we will be able to continue Jennifer Wilson’s beautiful educational vision of helping women and children gain access to quality educational experiences - into the next decade, too. Thank-you.