Literacy

California Masons are making literacy our legacy, and in turn, we’re making a profound difference for families in communities throughout the state.

Raising A Reader literacy partnership
Thousands of children throughout California do not have the resources necessary to build a strong educational foundation, and gain critical skills needed for a happy and productive life.

California Masons understand that engaged families are the heart of education. To address the need for family support, the California Masonic Foundation has partnered with one of the nation’s largest and most successful literacy organizations, Raising A Reader, to bring its award-winning literacy program to public schools for the first time in the U.S.

By providing California families with the tools they need, the Masons of California and Raising A Reader are strengthening families and inspiring a new generation of children to read, learn, and succeed - one book at a time.

How You Can Help

• Donate: By making a personal gift to the Raising A Reader literacy partnership on behalf of yourself or someone special in your life, you are becoming part of our legacy of literacy in California.
• Be a literacy role model: Role modeling is the most powerful way to change children’s behavior. Read for pleasure, and let children observe you enjoying a good book. Explain why you love to read. Offer to bring children on library outings.
• Be a guest reader: Share your love of reading and offer to read stories at local libraries, schools, and community centers.
• Be a literacy tutor: Help local children learn to read by volunteering through schools or public libraries.
• Act as a literacy advocate: Champion the importance of literacy by speaking with your family, friends, employer, local community groups, and the local media. Work to bring programs like Raising A Reader to your home community.
• Host literacy events: Offer to hold formal or informal literacy-focused events for children and families at your lodge, home, or business. Sample events are read-aloud parties and parent-child book clubs.