HUNTINGTON BEACH : Parade to Spell Out Illiteracy Problem

Tuesday was National Literacy Day, but the northwest Orange County chapter of Literacy Volunteers of America is waiting until the Fourth of July to focus attention on the nation’s worsening illiteracy problem.

A contingent from the group’s Huntington Valley chapter, representing Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach and Westminster, plan to march Thursday in Huntington Beach’s annual Fourth of July Parade.

A group of 25 volunteers and students will participate, most of whom will carry placards, each bearing a letter. Together, the cards will spell out LEARN TO READ and GET THE SPIRIT, the latter slogan a reference to this year’s parade theme, Spirit of America.

The group chose to commemorate National Literacy Day at the parade partly because it will be attended by an estimated 300,000 spectators. In addition, organizers believe that Independence Day is an appropriate holiday to celebrate the freedom and independence that one gains through literacy, said Sue Berman, co-coordinator of the chapter’s literacy program.

“By learning to read, so many people are really freed up as to what they can do. They become less dependent on others. It’s great,” Berman said.

Literacy Volunteers of America, based in Syracuse, N.Y., was founded 27 years ago as an effort to stem the illiteracy problem. Today, 27 million American adults are functionally illiterate, Berman said.

The 7-year-old Huntington Valley chapter, one of five literacy groups in the county, is based at Huntington Central Library. It has about 200 volunteers--nearly one for each student--who use computers and other resources to teach reading.