Literacy Is Lit, founded by Lizzie Shacklett, is a nonprofit organization that increases access to books for children in vulnerable communities, aiming to fill literacy gaps and achieve a future of educational equity. Since 2021, Lizzie has initiated and executed book drives within schools, businesses, and libraries throughout Pennsylvania. She collects books in her garage year-round, which serves as a continuous drop-off site and a home base for quality-checking and sorting.

 

Through these efforts, Literacy Is Lit has distributed more than 75,000 books to underserved children across the Mid-Atlantic region. Literacy Is Lit partners with early education centers, teachers, Title-I schools, food pantries, shelters, and community organizations to get books into the hands and onto the shelves of those who need them most. Its initiatives have allowed children to build their own home libraries, helping them strengthen critical literacy skills and experience empowerment.

 

To expand her impact, Lizzie launched “Literacy Leaders,” a program supporting students in civic leadership efforts. She helps them kickstart drives in their communities, providing mentorship and guidance through one-on-one and group meetings, and organizes volunteer opportunities for them to bond and build off each other’s ideas.

 

Through Literacy Is Lit, Lizzie also speaks to elementary students in schools and libraries, sharing her interactive “Learning With Lizzie” presentation, which includes the children's book she wrote and published, I Read Before Bed. Learning With Lizzie sparks passion for reading and instills intellectual curiosity within the next generation.

 

Literacy helps people navigate life, preparing them for academic, career, and personal success. Lizzie's mission is to ensure that all children are equipped with the literacy skills and education that will enable them to reach their full potential, because today’s readers are tomorrow’s leaders.