Update 7.8.10:  Thank you for all who have signed this petition thusfar.  Unfortunately, we did not reach our goal for signatures and will not be mailing this to media outlets. Still, we will continue to collect signatures for this petition in efforts to spread this message of literacy advancement. Thank you for caring and for signing.

Literacy is a major factor in navigating through some of the most pressing components of our society. Consider the current state of our healthcare, housing, and financial markets; the fact is that many of the people hurt by these markets did not understand the contracts, terms, and conditions of their transactions. The demand for adults to understand basic reading and writing skills is high and critical as it prepares our country to compete and survive in our competitive and ever-changing world. To better understand this concept, consider the healthcare industry's estimation that $73 billion per year of unnecessary healthcare expenses attribute to poor literacy (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Statistics, 2004). That same $73 billion could be used to save jobs. Obviously, this issue is a national battle; we must fight together, as a nation, to be victorious. David Harvey, president and CEO of ProLiteracy, sums it all up, as he's quoted by Christian Science Monitor (May 7, 2009). Adult literacy "is a core social issue that if we could fix as a nation, we would make inroads into fixing many other social problems," he says. "Low literacy levels are correlated with higher rates of crime, problems with navigating the healthcare system, problems with financial literacy. We know that some of the folks who signed subprime mortgages didn't understand what they were signing." We, therefore, request that the fight for literacy becomes a national priority. We request that media, churches, organizations, businesses, and government collaborate to create, improve, and sustain effective and accountable literacy programs for all age groups. This petition will be mailed to various media contacts, church leaders, organization leaders, business leaders, and government officials by July 2010. If you support our efforts to make literacy an American priority, please add your signature below. Special note about iPetitions: After you sign your name, you will be routed to iPetitions' donation page. This page will send donations to iPetitions and not the publisher of this petition. You are NOT obligated to donate. Your signature will still be recorded if you do not donate. Thank you for your support.

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