RIP Barbara Bush, Adult Literacy Advocate
April 17th, 2018 marked the passing of Barbara Bush (1925-2018). The former First Lady of the United States was many things to many people. She was a wife, a mother and remarkable person. She was a fierce advocate for adult literacy and family literacy, publicly supporting the need for more literacy programs. She believed that paren'ts are a child's first teacher and that literacy is a right for all. She launched the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy in 1989. Many people were reached through the Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE. This competition challenges teams of technological developers, educators, engineers and innovators to create mobile literacy learning applications for adult learners.
Adult Literacy programs are available at 10 library branches across the city. For more information, contact the Adult Literacy Department at 416-395-5555 or email us at adultliteracy@torontopubliclibrary.ca
2 thoughts on “RIP Barbara Bush, Adult Literacy Advocate”
Thanks for this post, Rachelle. Because I disagreed with most of what her husband and son did during their presidencies, I had only really thought of Barbara Bush as kind of a hard-nosed conservative. But, since her death I’ve learned that, in addition to her literacy work you mentioned, she did a great deal to improve public perceptions towards people with AIDS.
Thank for your comment Alyson! I did not know about her work regarding public perception on AIDS.