rooms of their own

Wait, literacy and a focus girls' education? Be still my heart! That's exactly what's going on at Room to Read, an international nonprofit organization based (yup) in San Francisco. Their website is full of shitty-but-true statistics like this one, "In the developing world, 42% of girls are not enrolled in school," and, "Of the 793 million illiterate people in the world, two-thirds are female." On the other hand, they also have awesome-and-true statistics such as, "Providing a girl with one extra year of education beyond the average boosts her future wages by 20%," and, "More than 13,000 girls in eight countries now have access to improved educational opportunities and holistic support as part of Room to Read’s Girls’ Education program." Can we just stop and look at that for a minute? 13,000 girls. 13,000, since 2000! Room to Read's programs focus on girls transitions into and out of secondary school, the organization engages with government officials and school admin, buys uniforms and ensures safe transportation, they get parents involved – and many of the girls they work with are the first in their families to finish secondary school. Let's think about that for a moment, too. The wasted talent, intelligence, and potential around the world. They're changing that.

Room to Read also builds schools, school libraries, provides reading and writing instruction, and, in an especially cool twist, produces children's literature in local languages. Are you excited yet? This is so awesome. You should really consider giving them some of your money.