OUR TURN: Help a ducky, help local literacy

The time has come once again to give a boost to adult literacy in the Highland Lakes by putting your money down on a little rubber ducky.

Don’t understand?

You will if you check out the 6th Annual Rubber Ducky Race for Literacy. Tickets are on sale now.

The race is in Burnet, held 10:15 a.m. April 10 along Hamilton Creek, just before the Bluebonnet Festival parade kicks off.

The fundraiser benefits an important group, Literacy Highland Lakes.

Literacy Highland Lakes is a volunteer-based nonprofit, and all the proceeds from the Rubber Ducky Race for Literacy go to help provide free classes and free tutoring in General Educational Development diploma preparation, English-as-a-Second Language courses, basic reading, and citizenship preparation for adults living in the Highland Lakes.

The volunteers provide free classes and free tutoring to increase the reading and writing skills of those who need a little extra help in the Highland Lakes.

As the world becomes more technologically savvy, and literacy skills remain in demand, knowing how to read and write remains a critical component to finding a good job.

Literacy rates have a direct impact on the economy and the standard of living in any society.

Studies indicate the quality of life rises in a society when the population can read and write. A high level of literacy can also lead to a better-paying job.

On the other hand, diminishing literacy rates in a community can increase the gap between the haves and have-nots.

The unfortunate fact is that in Burnet County, more than 22 percent of people 25 and older don’t have a GED degree or a high school diploma, meaning most can’t read or can read only at the most basic level.

The goal of Literacy Highland Lakes is to improve on those numbers.

The motto of Literacy Highland Lakes is "enriching lives through literacy," and though the two seem incongruous, the rubber ducky race helps the volunteers further that goal.

Tickets to have a ducky in the race are $5 each and are available from Literacy Highland Lakes volunteers and at the Burnet, Kingsland, Lake Buchanan/Inks Lake, and Marble Falls chambers of commerce, officials said.

For more information about the race, or to find out about tutoring or other services, call Literacy Highland Lakes at (512) 756-7337.

The group could also use some help from more volunteers.

They’re not asking for the sun or the moon. The only gift they want to give is the gift of literacy.

Surely there are volunteers in the community who can help.