SAN DIEGO (KGTV)- The San Diego Council on Literacy is marking 40 years of connecting local organizations and residents with the tools they need to read, learn, and succeed. The council now supports 35 programs reaching more than 100,000 people each year.
Jose Cruz, the council's CEO, has spent four decades making literacy his life's work, and he says the mission is deeply personal.
"It's never too early, and it's never too late, and help is out there," Cruz said.
Cruz grew up without books at home. His sisters would tell him stories instead, a memory he says didn't fully register until he was older.
"I didn't really think back then that, hey, we don't have books. It didn't register to me until later on, I just figured we were like everyone else," Cruz said.
That experience sparked his drive to ensure others have access to the resources he lacked.
"I have to remember, we have to remember just what a joy it was for us now that we're adults, what it was like back then to have a book and have someone read to you," Cruz said.
The council works across a wide range of literacy services, from early childhood programs to adult education.
"From giving books to children to the other end, which is American Sign Language, which is another area of literacy, and in between all of that, you have youth literacy services, services for families, adult literacy, helping people learn English, getting their high school diploma, and everything in between," Cruz said.
The organization has helped place hundreds of thousands of books into the hands of children and adults throughout the region. Cruz says watching people grow in confidence as they develop their literacy skills is the most rewarding part of his work.
"I think the first thing that happens when a person gets in front of a book, or has a tutor, or learns that first word or whatever it is, and they're seeing the progress, their confidence level goes up, and that's important because when you feel like you're behind and lost and not getting it, it's really discouraging," Cruz said.
Cruz says he is grateful the council can bring organizations together and make those resources available, whether someone is picking up a book for the first time as a child or as an adult.
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