Get Involved

Literacy changes everything — and you can be part of that change. Join us in building a world where everyone can read.

Ways to Take Action

There are many ways to support global literacy. You do not need to travel to another country or speak another language. You can make a difference from wherever you are. Choose the path that fits your time, skills, and passion.

📚 Volunteer Locally

Our programs need volunteers in communities around the world — including right here in France. Opportunities include:

  • Reading tutor for children or adults
  • Library helper at community libraries
  • Book sorting and packing for shipments
  • Translation of materials into local languages
  • Administrative and communications support

🤝 Become a Partner

We work with organizations that share our mission. Partnership opportunities include:

  • Schools & Universities: Host reading programs, service learning, or research partnerships
  • Libraries: Share best practices, twin with a library in another country
  • Corporations: Employee volunteer programs, skills-based volunteering
  • Foundations: Programmatic partnerships in specific regions
  • Nonprofits: Joint programs and resource sharing

📢 Advocate for Literacy

You do not need to be an expert to speak up for literacy. Advocacy actions include:

  • Share literacy facts and stories with your network
  • Write to your local representatives about education funding
  • Host a literacy awareness event in your community
  • Encourage your workplace or school to support literacy
  • Display our posters or share our digital materials

⭐ Become a Literacy Ambassador

Ambassadors are dedicated volunteers who represent Global Literacy Support in their communities for at least six months. Responsibilities include:

  • Organizing one literacy event per quarter
  • Giving presentations about global literacy
  • Recruiting other volunteers
  • Collecting and sending books to our distribution centers
  • Sharing stories and impact with your network

Training and materials provided. Ambassadors receive a welcome kit, regular updates, and direct support from our team.

Host a Book Drive

Books are the foundation of literacy. You can help us collect new and gently used books for communities that have none. Here is how:

How to Host a Book Drive

  • Choose a location: Your school, workplace, library, place of worship, or neighborhood
  • Set a time frame: Two to four weeks works well
  • Promote your drive: Use our flyers (available by email) and share with your community
  • Collect books: Focus on children's books, picture books, early readers, and young adult novels
  • Sort and pack: We provide packing guidelines and shipping labels
  • Send books to our distribution center: We handle the rest — getting books to communities that need them

Books we need most: Children's picture books (ages 3–8), early reader chapter books, young adult fiction, dictionaries, and educational workbooks. Books in languages other than English — especially French, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Bengali, and Arabic — are particularly valuable.

Books we cannot accept: Damaged or moldy books, textbooks over ten years old, magazines, or religious texts (unless specifically requested by a community).

Skills-Based Volunteering

Do you have professional skills that could help a literacy organization? We need experts in many fields:

Communications & Media

  • Writing and editing
  • Graphic design
  • Video production
  • Social media management (internal use only)
  • Newsletter creation

Technology & Data

  • Website maintenance
  • Database management
  • Data analysis and reporting
  • IT support for field offices
  • App development for literacy games

Education & Training

  • Curriculum development
  • Teacher training materials
  • Assessment design
  • Early childhood literacy expertise
  • Adult literacy methods

Operations & Management

  • Strategic planning
  • Human resources support
  • Legal and compliance advice
  • Translation services
  • Project management

If you have a skill not listed here, contact us anyway. We are always looking for creative ways to use volunteer expertise.

Start a Literacy Circle

A literacy circle is a small group of people who meet regularly to promote reading. You can start one anywhere — in your neighborhood, at your school, in your workplace, or online. Literacy circles can:

  • Read and discuss books about global education
  • Organize reading sessions for local children
  • Collect and send books to our distribution centers
  • Write letters to students in our programs
  • Learn about literacy issues together and plan advocacy actions

We provide literacy circle starter kits including discussion guides, activity ideas, and connection to other circles around the world.

Spread the Word

Sometimes the simplest action is the most powerful: telling others about the importance of literacy. You can:

  • Display our fact sheet in your workplace or community center
  • Share a literacy story with five friends or family members
  • Invite a Global Literacy Support speaker to your school or organization
  • Write a letter to your local newspaper about literacy needs
  • Talk to children in your life about why reading matters

"I started by volunteering just two hours a week at a local reading program. Two years later, I have helped ten children learn to read. That feeling — watching a child sound out their first word — is something I will never forget. You do not need to do everything. Just do something."

— Claire, volunteer in Lyon, France

Become a Partner Organization

If you represent a school, library, nonprofit, foundation, or company, we want to hear from you. Partnership benefits include:

  • Recognition on our website and in our materials
  • Regular updates about the impact of our shared work
  • Opportunities for staff or student engagement
  • Access to our resources and expertise
  • Connection to a global network of literacy supporters

We are particularly interested in partnerships that bring books, training, or volunteers to underserved communities. Let us explore what we can build together.

Ready to Get Involved?

Contact us and tell us how you would like to help. We will respond within three business days with next steps tailored to your interests.

Contact Our Team