University of Alabama football players -- including Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram -- are encouraging students to fight illiteracy in Alabama through a television public service announcement to be aired as a part of the 2010 Literacy is the Edge campaign.
The public service announcements will run through 2011and are aimed at raising awareness of illiteracy while helping recruit tutors for adults and children in west Alabama, and assistants for English as a second language programs.
"As students at the University of Alabama we are afforded the opportunity to get an amazing education," Alabama running back Mark Ingram said in a university news release. “The chance to become a tutor and help someone from our state learn to read is a great way to give back to a state that has done so much for me and my teammates."
Also taking part in the literacy program are quarterback Greg McElroy and linebacker Dont’a Hightower.
LITE's president, Lauren Musselman, said the program wanted to choose spokespersons with a strong impact. “Most people in West Alabama love UA football players, so what better way to reach out to the citizens of Tuscaloosa than through their home team, the Crimson Tide,” Musselman said.
McElroy said it's his goal to help make illiteracy irrelevant in the state of Alabama. “One person who can’t read is one too many. Every student at the University of Alabama should do what they can to help eliminate illiteracy in Alabama," McElroy said.
One in every 4 Alabamians is functionally illiterate — more than 1 million people. LITE officials say illiteracy can contribute to poverty, crime, unemployment, high school dropout rates and teen pregnancy.
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