Kudos to the Buffalo&Erie County Public Library, Literacy Volunteers of Buffalo&Erie County and Project Flight for their recent announced collaboration to fight low literacy in our community. Working together under one roof will not only save costs, but, more importantly, will allow them to coordinate efforts and better serve the residents of our community to improve literacy.

Our community has a history of tackling issues in a piecemeal way that can lead to inefficiencies and make it difficult for people to find the programs and services they need. Through Read to Succeed Buffalo, a coalition of 50 organizations dedicated to improving literacy—including the Public Library, Literacy Volunteers and Project Flight—we have found that collaboration can be highly successful. Working with like-minded organizations has led to improvement in services, the creation of new programs and a more coordinated effort to help those in need.

Working together, we can fight low literacy in Buffalo and provide the chance for residents to lift themselves out of poverty as well as help our community compete in a global economy. The actions of the Public Library, Literacy Volunteers and Project Flight will help us get one step closer to a community that achieves 100 percent literacy.

Helene H. Kramer

Executive Director Read to Succeed Buffalo