Northern Waters Literacy Receives $25,000 Grant

Northern Waters Literacy's (NWL) goal is to provide exceptional service to learners in its entire service area through excellent customer service and well trained volunteers. NWL serves a large geographic area in Wisconsin including Polk and St. Croix Counties. They recently received a $25,000 grant from the Otto Bremer Foundation.

NWL serve roughly 12% of adults and families with various backgrounds (women, the poor, ethnic people, learning disabled, inmates, youth) in the rural area who cannot read a simple book, find an intersection on a map, remember two facts from a newspaper article, understand a medical prescription or fill out an employment application. Illiterate adults are generally locked into entry-level jobs (if they can find work at all). Without literacy skills, they are condemned to a life of poverty that is often passed on to their children. More information can be found at: http://www.northernwatersliteracy.org/.

Pictured above: Dan Siebrasse, Bremer Bank; Jill Leahy, Director of Northern Waters Literacy; Leanne Waterworth, Program Coordinator, NWL.

Maltee McMahon, NRS, Wisconsin