To all those blessed with the ability to read,
I am honored to be serving as the President of the Literacy Council of Highlands and as an author
and columnist, I am grateful for the chance to assist in providing an opportunity to people of all
ages to obtain the most important skill they can ever have—the ability to read. If you read any
statistics at all you will be appalled at the rate of illiteracy in our country. A rate of 51% is
unbelievable, but to have just one person who cannot read a newspaper and understand its
meaning is a tragedy. I am personally committed to literacy, which is why I serve on the board,
sponsor the now annual writing contest and work to improve the lot of the few I can reach. I cannot
image what it would like not to be able to read a great book such as To Kill a Mockingbird, or
recite the poem To His Love.
There are many worthy causes to which you can give your time and money, and in most of those
projects you can see the end result—you can pet the adopted animal, or see a painting on the
museum wall. In the case of literacy, there is joy of seeing the wonder on a child’s face when they
finally get to read and understand a simple sentence, or the pride that an older person feels when
he, after a lifetime of not reading, stands proudly and acknowledges to the world, and more
importantly to himself, that he can read. As contributors, we don’t always get to see the end result
of our work in literacy, and our results cannot be seen on a wall by a visitor who walks by. Our
reward is the pride in knowing that we have helped these precious few, whom we may never
meet, that now have better lives because of what we have given. Like the story of the Starfish, I
cannot help everyone, but I can help this one. I am proud to be a sponsor of Literacy and I offer
you that same opportunity—please give.
Regards,
Matthew Eberz
President of the Board
Literacy Council of Highlands
I am honored to be serving as the President of the Literacy Council of Highlands and as an author
and columnist, I am grateful for the chance to assist in providing an opportunity to people of all
ages to obtain the most important skill they can ever have—the ability to read. If you read any
statistics at all you will be appalled at the rate of illiteracy in our country. A rate of 51% is
unbelievable, but to have just one person who cannot read a newspaper and understand its
meaning is a tragedy. I am personally committed to literacy, which is why I serve on the board,
sponsor the now annual writing contest and work to improve the lot of the few I can reach. I cannot
image what it would like not to be able to read a great book such as To Kill a Mockingbird, or
recite the poem To His Love.
There are many worthy causes to which you can give your time and money, and in most of those
projects you can see the end result—you can pet the adopted animal, or see a painting on the
museum wall. In the case of literacy, there is joy of seeing the wonder on a child’s face when they
finally get to read and understand a simple sentence, or the pride that an older person feels when
he, after a lifetime of not reading, stands proudly and acknowledges to the world, and more
importantly to himself, that he can read. As contributors, we don’t always get to see the end result
of our work in literacy, and our results cannot be seen on a wall by a visitor who walks by. Our
reward is the pride in knowing that we have helped these precious few, whom we may never
meet, that now have better lives because of what we have given. Like the story of the Starfish, I
cannot help everyone, but I can help this one. I am proud to be a sponsor of Literacy and I offer
you that same opportunity—please give.
Regards,
Matthew Eberz
President of the Board
Literacy Council of Highlands