By Ginny Cooper
Journal staff writer
A nonprofit group dedicated to improving literacy in Birmingham area students will celebrate its 20th year in February.
Better Basics, a nonprofit United Way agency, is hosting the Celebrate 20 in ’14 dinner event on Feb. 20 at The Club in Homewood and will honor those who have been integral in its mission.
“It’s our 20th anniversary, and we’re honoring 20 individuals, businesses and foundations that have helped grow Better Basics over the years,” said Kym Prewitt of Vestavia Hills, a member of the board of directors and chairman of the event.
Former NBA and University of Alabama basketball star Ennis Whatley will be the featured speaker at the event honoring the partners who have made a significant impact on the organization’s growth and sustainability.
A graduate of Phillips High School in Birmingham, Whatley led the University of Alabama’s basketball team to a Sweet 16 appearance in the 1982 NCAA Tournament before playing 10 seasons in the NBA. Now an inspirational speaker, he struggled through school until college, he said, when he discovered the importance of reading and education.
His message truly resonates with the mission of Better Basics, Prewitt said.
“He has a really powerful story about growing up and struggling with illiteracy. His story is really incredible,” Prewitt said.
Prewitt said proceeds from the event will support Better Basics’ full range of literacy programs in Birmingham area public schools.
Better Basics has a variety of programs designed to eradicate illiteracy in Alabama, including school-day, afterschool and summer learning programs, she said.
“We have so many wonderful, wonderful programs,” Prewitt said.
Last year, Better Basics served more than 19,000 students and gave away almost 40,000 books to Birmingham area schoolchildren who might not otherwise have books in their homes. Better Basics hosts the Birmingham Reads book drive each year and through that program alone helped provide almost 32,000 books to children in 2013, Prewitt said.
The organization’s programs empower students as they progress along the learning continuum, from reading to comprehension to retention, while infusing literature into their homes and exposing them to multicultural arts and enrichment programs, said Executive Director Karen Kapp of Vestavia Hills.
“Better Basics is honored to have the support of people who are truly concerned about furthering literacy in our community,” Kapp said. “By helping children develop a lifelong love of reading, we truly can increase the high school graduation rate in Alabama, create a well-educated workforce and decrease both the number of inmates in Alabama prisons and the number of welfare recipients.”
Those being honored at the Feb. 20 event include John and Jane Glasser, Briarwood Presbyterian Church, Doug Shook, Sue Seay, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, Junior League of Birmingham, United Way of Central Alabama, Daniel Foundation, Susan Mott Webb Charitable Trust, Robert R Meyer Foundation, Jemison Investments, Joseph S. Bruno Foundation, Alabama Power, Protective Life, Vulcan Materials, Alabama State Council on the Arts, Jim Stephens, Rotaract Club of Birmingham, Bruce and Ida Dunbar, Eldridge Turner, Alabama State Department of Education, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Children’s Literacy Guild, Comer Foundation, Hugh Kaul Foundation, Appalachian Regional Commission, Independent Presbyterian Church Foundation, Belk Foundation, Mike and Gillian Goodrich Foundation, John Brown, William Porter, Kym Prewitt, Malcolm Miller, Casey Thompson, Fay Fontenot and Trenton Ellison.
The Celebrate 20 in ’14 event will kick off with a reception and silent auction at 6 p.m. followed by dinner and the program with Whatley at 7 p.m. Tickets are $75 each or $1,000 for a table of eight.
For tickets and more information about the event, visit www.betterbasics.org, send an email to events@betterbasics.org or call 944-2928.
