First Literacy has awarded $38,000 in Adult Basic Education grants to eight organizations, including a $5,727 grant to Jewish Vocational Service Boston (JVS) to pilot a pioneering summer family literacy class in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood that could become a national model for expanding multi-generational English language learning.
Since 1988, First Literacy has focused on improving Adult Basic Education (ABE) in the community. Grant funding initiatives have grown immensely over the years, supporting hundreds of organizations in the development and trial of innovative education programs.
“Adult Basic Education programs are consistently underfunded,” said Terry Witherell, Executive Director. “First Literacy grants offer a unique opportunity for ABE organizations to pilot new and innovative programs that will have a lasting impact; and their ideas can be shared with the broader ABE community.”
First Literacy’s grant to JVS Boston will fund a demonstration project offering an online, remote class covering English skill development, phonics, and literacy acquisition skills. It’s designed for parents to work on with their children, creating multigenerational opportunities for families to grow their English language skills for the workplace, school, and community engagement.
“Since moving some of our classes to online learning platforms, we have had an increase in parents of young children enrolling in our program,” said Riva Pearson, ESOL Program Manager at JVS. “This project will give these students tools to improve their own English while helping their children develop necessary skills.”
In addition to offering grants, First Literacy provides free professional development to adult educators and awards scholarships to adult learners pursuing higher education. Since the organization’s founding in 1988, more than $6 million has been allocated to support teachers and innovative literacy programs, and more than 600 scholarships have been awarded.
“This year we awarded grants to five organizations that have never before received funds from First Literacy,” said Annie Sferrazza, First Literacy Program Director. “We are excited to expand our impact into new communities and watch these innovative ideas come to life.”
Grants of up to $15,000 are open to all not-for-profit Adult Basic Education and English Language Learning organizations in Massachusetts. Grants can be used for projects such as developing and piloting a program idea, offering a short-term class that fills an unmet student need, or organization-wide initiatives. To learn more about First Literacy grants for Adult Basic Education programs, please visit www.FirstLiteracy.org.
To read more, check out this Boston Globe article here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/02/metro/first-literacy-2025-grants-for-adult-learning-programs/