Star UA Football Athletes Give Support to Literacy Campaign

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Student athletes from The University of Alabama football program are encouraging students to fight illiteracy in Alabama through a television public service announcement to be aired as a part of the 2010 Literacy is the Edge campaign.

Standout athletes helping with the campaign include running back Mark Ingram, quarterback Greg McElroy and linebacker Dont’a Hightower. The public service announcements will run through 2011. The announcements will not only raise awareness of illiteracy in Alabama but will help recruit reading tutors for adults and children in west Alabama, and assistants for English as a second language programs.

“As students at the University of Alabama we are afforded the opportunity to get an amazing education,” Alabama running back Mark Ingram said. “The chance to become a tutor and help someone from our state learn to read is a great way to give back to a state that has done so much for me and my teammates.”

Lauren Musselman, LITE president, says it is important to choose spokespersons with a strong impact. “Most people in West Alabama love UA football players, so what better way to reach out to the citizens of Tuscaloosa than through their home team, the Crimson Tide,” Musselman says.

Functional illiteracy, the term used to describe the lack of basic reading, writing and math skills to function in everyday life, is a growing issue in Alabama. One in every four Alabamians is functionally illiterate — more than one million people. Social and economic consequences are associated with functional illiteracy, including poverty, crime, unemployment, high school dropout rates and teen pregnancy.

The goal should be to make illiteracy completely irrelevant in the state of Alabama,” Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy said. “One person who can’t read is one too many. Every student at the University of Alabama should do what they can to help eliminate illiteracy in Alabama.”

The television announcement can be viewed on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_mWWKhFzuc.

Literacy is the Edge is a student-led advocacy group for literacy at The University of Alabama. It supports the work of the Literacy Council of West Alabama. LITE’s mission is to increase awareness of the issue of illiteracy and recruit tutors to actively fight illiteracy in West Alabama. For more information about LITE, or to become a reading tutor or find reading help, e-mail literacyistheedge@gmail.com. Friend Literacy is the Edge on Facebook and follow @L_I_T_E on Twitter.  LITE may also be contacted through www.lite.ua.edu.