Keep passing the word, folks! We’re not there yet!

My Friend Amy – http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/

Keep telling your friends – one book at a time!

It’s not too late, though.  I’m still holding out hope.  She’ll just have to fly me to Chicago.

mw

On today’s show, Oprah focused on women’s resilience and women’s progress in the world.  Oprah – did you know that 774 million people worldwide are illiterate?  2/3 of them are women!  If a mother can’t read, chances are her kids won’t be readers either.  Literacy is the way out of poverty and is crucial for a productive, healthy life.

Oprah?  What do you say??    Help us change the world, one book at a time!

If  1000 readers (we already have way more than that) tell two friends, and each of them keeps a string going, we only need SIX iterations to make it to $100,000.  That’s you, two friends, four friends, eight friends, sixteen friends, and thirty two friends.  All each person has to do is tell two friends!  It’s simple!

Thanks to readers from ALL OVER THE WORLD for telling their friends!

Someone asked me recently – why literacy?  Why would anyone give away $100,000 (100% of my profits from sales of My Soul to Keep) to teach illiterate adults how to read?  (Okay – fair question.  I admit it sounds a little crazy.  It’s not like I’m dripping with cash).

Two words: compassion fatigue

Here’s the deal. I support several causes vigorously and regularly (and so should you!)  In fact, if you’ll notice, each of my books centers around a cause.  When the Day of Evil Comes concerns family violence and suicide.  The Soul Hunter references violence against women and lost teens.  And My Soul to Keep is about child abduction.  I don’t write about these things because they’re morbid.  I write about them because they’re IMPORTANT.

But the truth is, I sometimes feel exhausted and overwhelmed by the number of problems out there.  Don’t you?

Illiteracy, it turns out, is linked to just about every evil under the sun.  Child abuse, poverty, disease, hunger, violent crime, violence against women, HIV/AIDS… . You name it.  In fact, illiteracy is one of the FEW things in this world you can actually do something about!  A little money goes a LOOOOONG way. And the ripple effects are exponential.

Did you know 33 million adults in the United States can’t read at an 8th grade level? Do the math, folks.  That’s 10% of our population.  Wow.

17 million American adults can’t read well enough to earn a living wage.

62% of prison inmates are illiterate.  Imagine getting out of jail and trying to make a new life for yourself when you can’t even fill out a job application.  Do you want that guy back on the street with no job and no skills? Or do you want him to have every opportunity to become a productive member of society?

774 million adults worldwide are illiterate.  2/3 of them are women.

If a mother can’t read, chances are her children won’t be readers either.

It all adds up to one simple thing.  A literate population is a healthier, safer, and more productive population.

If you’re reading this, I guarantee you that you take the ability to read this sentence for granted.  Millions of other Americans can’t read it.  They can’t read the aspirin bottle either.  Or the street signs.  Or a note from their kid’s teacher.

Most of us are completely unaware of this shadow population.  How is it possible that millions of adults in the richest country in the world can’t read?  (Click on Rosetta’s story.  She’ll tell you all about it.)

The I Told Two Friends campaign was designed to give you a simple, painless, fun way to share the gift of literacy with millions of Americans.  All you have to do is buy a couple of books, give them to two friends, and ask them to do the same (and so on, and so on, and so on…).

25 bucks and two friends can change the world.  YOU can change the world.

Join us and be part of the solution!

Melanie

"Literacy opened up the door and gave me a chance to reach for higher dreams."

Listen to Rosetta’s story by clicking on her picture for video download.

Buy a couple of books and tell a couple of friends to do the same, and you will be helping people like Rosetta Harper learn to read this sentence.

Rosetta graduated from high school on the honor roll. She even took extra summer classes all through high school. But after Rosetta Harper’s first year at college when she couldn’t pass remedial English, she decided it was just easier to accept the fact that she couldn’t read and not make a fuss. “I just withdrew and then I decided to just get a job and raise my children and had accepted my life that it was OK, that I could do this and it was fine.”

So she just settled.  Ms. Harper did her job and passed on several management opportunities because she knew she’d be “exposed.” She accepted her life for what it was.

But the one thing Harper did not accept was the same lot in life for her children. She took them to the library, got each one a library card, and had her oldest daughter tutor the younger siblings. “One day my son saw a program on TV and he said, ‘Mom, why don’t you go back and let somebody help you.’ I decided, well maybe I can let somebody help figure out what it is I don’t know.”

The tutor at the literacy program Harper entered asked her to read out loud. For Harper, that was an emotional experience and she cried over words she didn’t know. She took it one day at a time, improving with each day, until reading became not a chore, but a hobby. On this trip to the library, Harper got the library card and the books checked out were for her. She found inspiration in the stories of African-American women, whose struggles helped Harper understand “you’re not alone in what you do, but you have to understand from where you came from.”

Harper already has achieved two of her goals-reading a novel and writing her will. She has a third goal-to write for children.

Harper sees big changes in her life since learning to read. “Unless you speak out and let somebody know your story, you trap yourself by keeping everything in. But you free yourself when you open up to others.”

Click on “Hear Their Stories” and listen to these powerful real-life American stories about how literacy can change lives.   This is what we’re working for!

Other ways to help:

1) Use the image below to email all your friends (not just two) about the campaign and encourage them to participate. Don’t forget about your Facebook friends, MySpace friends, bloggers, etc.

2) Email Ellen DeGeneres http://ellen.warnerbros.com/show/respond/?PlugID=10 or Tweet Ellen at twitter.com/TheEllenShow and encourage her to support the I Told Two Friends campaign by having Melanie on the show to talk about the campaign.

3) Send us your photos and videos.  Several of you have sent photos of yourselves reading My Soul to Keep. We’ll get them posted asap. Keep ‘em coming!

Thanks, everyone!  Watch this site for updates!