Every kid should be able to read a Christmas card

by Team Bill 26 Nov 2018
We all love to receive Christmas cards. The messages of love written inside give us a warm sense of belonging, especially when they come from our kids. But imagine if that didn’t happen. Imagine if a child was unable to write or even read a Christmas card.

[caption id="attachment_2504" align="aligncenter" width="843"]After learning to read, a child in our literacy class made this Christmas Card. After learning to read, a child in our literacy class made this Christmas Card.[/caption]

It’s a heartbreaking reality that is going to happen countless thousands of times this Christmas. Thankfully, my Bill Crews Charitable Trust is working to improve the situation! We’re rolling out a brand new phonics-based literacy program for the poorest and most disadvantaged kids in Australia.

I’m sure you know that being able to read is more important than ever for children today. In the past there were certain manual jobs that didn’t require literacy, but they have disappeared in this computer age.

Now being able to read isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity of life. So you might expect no child would leave primary school illiterate. Sadly, that is not the case.

For a variety of reasons some kids miss out. Maybe their home life has been chaotic. Maybe extreme poverty or illness has meant long absences from school. Perhaps English was a second language. Or maybe a child’s brain has simply been wired differently, meaning learning to read is like trying to program a computer without an instruction book.

Whatever the reason the other children in the class move ahead and these kids are left behind.

For over 25 years I have been striving to help these children. In fact more than 3,500 of them have been taught to read thanks to our programs. We are always looking for better ways to teach the children and now we are rolling out a new phonics-based program which has had remarkable success in the U.K.

Already I am seeing the improved results! Like the mother in a hospital bed undergoing cancer treatment who’s daughter sat beside her and began to read her a story. Or another mother who told me in breathless wonder of the moment her daughter started to read her the menu in a local cafe.

In fact just today I was watching a young boy in our new phonics program who is really taking off. As his reading skills improve he is literally flying ahead in all his subjects. I marvelled at his quickness in picking up abstract concepts and running with them.

These children are as much a part of our future as any others. I’m sure you agree they deserve every chance to succeed. That’s why I’m asking for your support this Christmas.

I’d be honoured and humbled if you’d consider donating to my phonics-based literacy program at The Bill Crews Charitable Trust. Your Christmas gift can change the World for a disadvantaged child. So please, donate now and help a child learn to read this Christmas.

Merry Christmas and God bless
Rev. Bill Crews