Literacy Partners Shines a Light on Parental Illiteracy With New Campaign by The&Partnership

NEW YORK, June 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Literacy Partners, a nonprofit organization that provides free literacy classes to low-income parents, has teamed with New York-based communications agency The&Partnership to create a compelling campaign "What Kids Reads" that brings attention to parental illiteracy and how it impacts their families. 

There are more than two million adults in New York City – or one in four – who are functionally illiterate and have trouble with daily tasks others take for granted, such as reading a prescription bottle, helping their child with homework, or even navigating public transportation.

"We couldn't be more honored to partner with Literacy Partners on such important life-changing work. The numbers around adult illiteracy and how it affects families is much higher than most people would think, and we hope that this campaign can help to bring about some lasting change and support for the work that Literacy Partners is doing in the community," said Andrew Bailey, CEO, North America, The&Partnership.

The campaign includes an emotional video from a child's point of view and a unique interactive digital storytelling experience. The video entitled "What Kids Read" https://youtu.be/E0Inj8s-c1g focuses on the role-reversal that occurs when parents who cannot read have to rely on their children to do so for them. One child has to read the instructions for a prescription, while another reads an overdue rent notice. Actual students who participate in the Literacy Partners program are featured in the video, and the voiceover is read by Camille McPherson, a first-year student in the program, in an effort to highlight the strides she has already made.  

"We are thrilled with the tone and raw emotion brought forth in the film through our students and their children," says Anthony Tassi, Executive Director, Literacy Partners. "It is really special to work with partners like The&Partnership who are just as passionate about this cause as we are. Our main goal in creating this film is to bring more attention to the role that parents' education levels play in the lives of their children.  We want to remind everyone who is committed to helping children that we can't leave the parents out of the equation."

The video is complemented with a digital experience at http://WhatKidsRead.org to provide an immersive experience and to build further awareness through social sharing. Visitors to the site will be greeted by what appears to be a beautifully illustrated children's story, but on closer inspection the words are actually that of a medical prescription, a carbon monoxide alarm installation guide or notice of electricity/gas termination. Visitors are then prompted to share this page on Facebook or Twitter, and once the page is shared, the words and illustrations transform into actual children's stories.

The stories and book excerpts have been donated by famous children's authors and illustrators, such as Doreen Cronin, Marion Deuchars and Rosemary Wells. Starting with the world preview of Hand in Hand by Rosemary Wells (only due for official release in September), new stories will be revealed over the following month. The site will also provide additional information about the campaign and encourage people to donate to Literacy Partners and help the organization continue to provide free classes to parents.

The film premiered last night, June 7, at the Literacy Partners Evening of Readings Gala 2016. The full campaign, including additional elements on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and the launch of the site goes live today, June 8. For more information and how to support the work of Literacy Partners, visit www.literacypartners.org.

Along with The&Partnership, SOMESUCH (production), Work Editorial (post-production), Framestore (colorists), BlackSmith (conform), Sound Lounge (audio post), Jonathan Tull (audio composer), and StangaOne1 (site build) all volunteered their time and services on this campaign. (Full credits list here).

About Literacy Partners
Literacy Partners is a nonprofit organization in NYC that is committed to strengthening families through parental literacy. With free classes, low-income parents can gain the literacy and language skills needed for success in today's world while promoting their children's early literacy skills and school readiness—giving them the best possible start in life. Ninety-three million American adults have basic or below-basic literacy. Literacy Partners educates parents to help them achieve their potential as students, workers, and parents. Most importantly, Literacy Partners gives them the tools to be better academic role models for their children, because every child deserves a great first teacher.

About The&Partnership
The&Partnership is a modern communications agency uniquely built to solve the concerns and frustrations of marketers. The multidisciplinary model operates under a single-bottom line, which creates game-changing collaboration and creativity across disciplines, delivering the right answer for today's client needs. The agency's capabilities span disciplines including advertising, media, PR, CRM, data/analytics, digital, social, mobile, innovation, content and delivery/production. The&Partnership has 1,500 employees in 56 offices across 25 countries. For more information, visit the website at: http://www.theandpartnership.com. Follow The&Partnership on Twitter @and_partnership and on Instagram @theandpartnership.

SOURCE The&Partnership

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