What started in March of 1999 with 65 volunteers at Garden Hills Elementary School, has blossomed into the Atlanta Jewish Literacy Coalition (AJLC), a self-sustaining division of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta (JFGA), with 225 volunteer reading coaches working with 10 public schools around metro Atlanta. AJLC volunteers serve as one-to-one reading coaches with first-through-fourth-grade children who do not read at their grade level.

Funded by the Blank Family Foundation, as well as family foundations through Federation and other private foundations, the AJLC's $75,000 operating budget allows it to provide tutoring programs to schools throughout the Atlanta area. The AJLC has also requested an additional $5,000 grant from the State of Georgia in hopes of placing more volunteers in more schools.

Despite the lean times, Grossman said there have been many wonderful achievements. "We opened in four new schools and two new after-school programs this past year. The accomplishment was getting the schools to get their programs off the ground quickly so that they could accommodate our volunteers. We held more than 20 training sessions for our volunteers this year, a record number!"

For more information about the AJLC, contact Eileen Snow Price Literacy Volunteer Coordinator, at (404) 870-7680.