- link Copy Url - [ Share on twitter ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Nation’s Illiteracy Woes Won’t Be Solved by Government Alone https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/262121?absolute=1&via=3blnews "link to 3 B L Media's Twitter") - [ Share on linkedin ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/262121?absolute=1 "link to 3 B L Media's Linkedin") - [ Share on facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/262121?absolute=1 "link to 3 B L Media's Facebook") - [ email Share via email ](mailto:?subject=Nation’s Illiteracy Woes Won’t Be Solved by Government Alone&body=ESG News from JetBlue Airways https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/262121?absolute=1 "Share via email") [Education](/CSR-News/education) # Nation’s Illiteracy Woes Won’t Be Solved by Government Alone ##### By Maggie Kohn Oct 8, 2019 11:35 AM ET ![](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_2x/public/images/TriplePundit_JetBlue_students.jpg "Image credit: Nicole Honeywill/Unsplash") Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/E3I2zjwGudM" target="_blank">Nicole Honeywill</a>/Unsplash [Originally published by TriplePundit](https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2019/nations-illiteracy-woes-wont-be-solved-government-alone/84731/) [*This article series is underwritten by JetBlue and went through our normal editorial review process.*](https://www.triplepundit.com/sponsored-series/59936/companies-and-communities-come-together-help-stem-careers-take) According to recent research, [more than 30 million adults in the United States](https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/education-news-roundup/illiteracy-in-america/) cannot read, write or do basic math above a third-grade level. Children whose parents have low literacy levels have a 72 percent chance of being at the lowest reading levels themselves. These children are more likely to get poor grades, display behavioral problems, have high absentee rates, repeat school years or drop out, according to the [National Bureau of Economic Research](https://www.nber.org/). [Other studies](https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/education-news-roundup/illiteracy-in-america/) confirm the widening literacy gap, which authors say will lead to the perpetuation of poverty and a resultant expanding unskilled workforce in the coming years. **This challenge is too big for any one sector** The U.S. Department of Education is scrambling to address the growing crisis, but it is just too big. Increasingly, businesses are realizing the immensity of the challenge in their communities and the potential impact it could have on their own sustainability. They also realize that their employees and customers are looking to them to do something. “There is an expectation today that companies will respond and help,” says Icema Gibbs, director of corporate social responsibility for JetBlue Airways and architect of the company’s award-winning [Soar with Reading](https://www.jetblue.com/jetblue-for-good/youth-education/soar-with-reading) program. “It’s incumbent upon companies to help. Everyone has to get involved to move the needle on social change.” Through its Soar with Reading program, JetBlue has been tackling the issue of book availability in underserved communities since 2015. Using a creative approach, the program provides free children’s books through vending machines in a different city every summer. For selection in the program, a city must be one where JetBlue flies and where a book desert exists. To date, JetBlue has brought Soar with Reading to Detroit, San Francisco and Oakland, Washington, D.C., Fort Lauderdale and, this year, New York City. Once a new city is selected, Gibbs’ corporate responsibility team works with local community leaders, educators and community organizations to identify neighborhoods that would benefit most from the program and high-traffic areas where kids and families visit often, such as community centers. Vending machines are set up from July through September and restocked every two weeks with new titles that feature a wide array of age-appropriate books that also reflect the distinct languages and cultures of the community. “We work long and hard to ensure we select books that represent the neighborhoods we go into,” Gibbs explains. For example, when Soar with Reading took up residence in San Francisco, Gibbs and her team ensured there were books available in Mandarin. JetBlue’s vending machines include historical, biographical, and narrative books designed to attract young audiences and keep them reading. [**Continue reading**](https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2019/nations-illiteracy-woes-wont-be-solved-government-alone/84731/) [![](/sites/default/files/Clients/PRN-JETBLUE.jpg)](/profiles/jetblue-airways) ### More from JetBlue Airways ###### [Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance Announces Aviation Decarbonization First, With Collective Purchase of Sustainable Aviation Fuel Certificates ](/news/sustainable-aviation-buyers-alliance-announces-aviation-decarbonization-first-collective) Apr 4, 2023 4:40 PM ET ###### [JetBlue Brings “Fly Like a Girl” Event to Fort Lauderdale as Part of Commitment to South Florida](/news/jetblue-brings-fly-girl-event-fort-lauderdale-part-commitment-south-florida) Apr 3, 2023 12:20 PM ET ###### [JetBlue and Shell Aviation Announce Agreement Bringing New Supply of SAF to LAX](/news/jetblue-and-shell-aviation-announce-agreement-bringing-new-supply-saf-lax) Mar 14, 2023 3:45 PM ET ###### [JetBlue Partners With CHOOOSE, Giving Customers the Tools To Help Scale the Sustainability of Air Travel](/news/jetblue-partners-chooose-giving-customers-tools-help-scale-sustainability-air-travel) Feb 28, 2023 12:15 PM ET ###### [JetBlue Announces Science-Based Emissions Reduction Target and Strategy To Achieve Net Zero by 2040](/news/jetblue-announces-science-based-emissions-reduction-target-and-strategy-achieve-net-zero-2040) Dec 6, 2022 1:00 PM ET ###### [JetBlue and Fidelis New Energy Sign Agreement for 92 Million Gallons of Sustainable Aviation Fuel](/news/jetblue-and-fidelis-new-energy-sign-agreement-92-million-gallons-sustainable-aviation-fuel) Dec 2, 2022 12:05 PM ET ###### [Ava DuVernay's Array Releasing Partners With JetBlue for Exclusive In-Flight Pop-Up Channel Featuring 12 Independent Feature Films From Artists of Color and Women Directors](/news/ava-duvernays-array-releasing-partners-jetblue-exclusive-flight-pop-channel-featuring-12) Dec 1, 2022 11:00 AM ET ###### [In Celebration of JetBlue For Good Month and Giving Tuesday, JetBlue Donates 2 Million TrueBlue Points to Charitable Organizations](/news/celebration-jetblue-good-month-and-giving-tuesday-jetblue-donates-2-million-trueblue-points) Nov 29, 2022 9:35 AM ET