Updated: Tuesday, January 21, 1997
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According to the government's National Literacy Survey, 25 million adults in the United States do not know how to read. In fact, the United Nations reports that the U.S. Ranks 49th among 156 United Nations member countries in comparing the percentage rate of literacy to the country's population.

In a seven nation comparative study, the National Center for Education found that the "United States has a greater concentration of adults at both the highest and lowest levels of literacy." Only Poland ranks lower in overall literacy.

"Literacy is indispensable to attaining many of the most basic goals for humanity's well-being -- healthier babies, longer lives, greater productivity, stronger economies, and stable societies. It is a tragedy that in America today, when we live and work in the vanguard of the information age, millions of our fellow citizens cannot read, and millions more read below the skill level necessary to function successfully in our society . . . Building a literate world is a vital challenge that none of us can ignore." President Bill Clinton

These nonprofit organizations are trying to reverse the statistics. Here are some ways you can help make a difference.