The Liberian Literacy Foundation and Pro-Literacy Detroit Announce a Partnership...

The Liberian Literacy Foundation and Pro-Literacy Detroit Announce a Partnership to Combat Illiteracy

Book Signing for Literacy at Detroit Public Library to Bring
Greater Awareness to the Written and Spoken Word
DETROIT--(Business Wire)--The Liberian Literacy Foundation www.liberianbooks.org and
Pro-Literacy Detroit www.proliteracydetroit.org today announced that
on January 31, a partnership which Pro-Literacy Detroit will
facilitate the training of volunteers as literacy trainers for the
Liberian Books Project. These volunteers will work in their local
communities gaining valuable experience as they prepare to travel to
Liberia where they will support teachers in the classrooms of Liberian
schools.

To kick off the alliance, both organizations will be sponsoring a
meet-and-greet book signing at the Detroit Public Library on Thursday,
January 31 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

"Literacy is something that every human being in the world is
capable of, but due to lack of either role models or social structure,
some people fall between the cracks and don't have a fair opportunity
to learn," said Margaret Williamson, Executive Director, Pro-Literacy
Detroit. "Our purpose in teaming up Detroit with Liberia is to
strengthen the cause for literacy in both regions, and to generate
global awareness that reading is the key to advancing in life."

The Liberian Literacy Foundation is a nonprofit organization
established to respond directly to the need for educational resources
in Liberia. The Detroit-based Liberian Literacy Foundation partners
with organizations throughout the world in the singular mission of
supporting literacy in Liberia.

To address the challenges confronting learning institutions by a
lack of educational resources, the Liberian Literacy Foundation has
developed the Liberian Books Project--a sustainable development
project for the country of Liberia whose overall population is 3.6
million.

The Liberian Books Project adopts the goals of the United Nations
Millennium Development Challenge of 2015, and seeks to support the
accomplishment of these goals in Liberia by creating 1,200
scholarships, supporting 1,200 literacy centers and providing
renewable electricity to schools in Liberia by 2015.

The current mission of the project encourages students at colleges
and universities to collect used textbooks each year which are put
into a collective fund and then are placed for sale online. Proceeds
from the sales establish a literacy fund which covers the cost of
sustaining the goals of the Liberian Books Project.

Pro-Literacy Detroit is a nonprofit organization that has served
Michigan residents for more than twenty years and makes basic literacy
services more accessible by utilizing print, electronic media and the
Internet. Trained tutors are available to tutor learners at community
centers, churches, libraries, schools and in the workplace.

Many local companies are adopting the software that Pro-Literacy
Detroit utilizes to remediate their workers to be more successful and
advance their careers. Throughout the course of their existence, the
organization has trained over 6,000 volunteer tutors, and assisted
over 11,000 learners. In the metro Detroit area, more than 400
volunteers provide 56,000 hours of service each year.

"Being able to draw on Pro-Literacy Detroit's many years of
experience at preparing individuals as literacy tutors is truly a big
win for the Liberian Books Project," said E. Victor Helb, Jr.,
Executive Director, Liberian Literacy Foundation. "It is also a major
plus for the local communities where these volunteers will spend many
months training and tutoring others as they prepare to travel to
Liberia. We are very thankful to Margaret Williamson and her team at
Pro-Literacy Detroit, and to the Wayne State University community for
their support to Liberia through the Liberian Books Project."

The event also marks the opening of the Liberian Literacy
Foundation's Author's Club. Local, national, and international authors
will sign copies of their books and donate them to the Liberian Books
Project.

"While these authors will be on site, the Liberian Literacy
Foundation invites authors from around the world to join in this
global humanitarian awareness project by donating signed copies of
their books to the Liberian Books Project," added Helb. "Everyone can
do something to help promote literacy - and the end results will be
rewarding for all."

Authors expected to attend the event include:

-- Hon. Wilton Sankawulo - Former Liberian Head of State, author
of Sundown at Dawn: A Liberian Odyssey, Great Tales of
Liberia, and The Rain and the Night.
http://www.wiltonsankawulo.rlhub.com/books.htm

-- Mr. Bankole Thompson - Senior Editor of the Michigan
Chronicle, author of Ignoring the Underprivileged, and A
Matter of Black Transformation. http://www.bankolethompson.com

-- Mr. C. Paschal Eze - A widely traveled former tourism
columnist, proofreader, daily newspaper and monthly business
magazine editor-in-chief, is a certified e-commerce consultant
and re-branding strategist who runs his own business in Iowa.
Author of Don't Africa Me. http://www.paschalezemedia.com/

Additional people and organizations have been instrumental in
making the first annual Signing for Literacy event happen and these
include: Honorary Consul General, Mike Bedoun, Republic of Liberia,
Subway Detroit Public Library, Wayne State University student
leaders-Rotoracts and the African Student Society and the Liberian
Association of Michigan.

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Editors Note:
Date: January 31, 2008
Time: 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Location: Detroit Public Library (Old Fine Room)
5201 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48202
(The Main Library located on the campus of Wayne State
University.)
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Sponsored by:

Honorary Consul General, Mike Bedoun, Republic of Liberia

Liberian Literacy Foundation
E. Victor Helb, Jr.,313-605-7324
Executive Director
http://www.liberianbooks.org/
info@liberianbooks.org
or
Fusion Public Relations
(For Pro-Literacy Detroit)
Paul Macchia, 212-651-4216
paul.macchia@fusionpr.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008