“The great aim of education is not knowledge, but action.”
- Herbert Spencer, English philosopher, political theorist and sociological theorist.

•    85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate.
•    Literacy is learned. Illiteracy is passed along by parents who cannot read or write.
•    One child in four grows up not knowing how to read.
•    16 to 19 year old girls at the poverty level and below, with below average skills, are 6 times more likely to have out-of-wedlock children than their reading counterparts.

The Chris Draft Family Foundation strongly believes that education is the building block to action and improvement in all aspects of life.  Through Chris Draft's professional career, he has identified literacy as the clear foundation of a solid education.

It was because of this that the Chris Draft Family Foundation established the Literacy Leaders™ initiative, which is a network of people dedicated to “changing lives, saving lives, one book at a time” through promoting literacy and encouraging reading.

CDFF believes that literacy and education are paramount to our country’s success, and is committed to promoting literacy for youth of all ages through a variety of strategic partnerships and programming, working with several public school districts from Los Angeles, Calif., to Washington D.C.

The foundation also works to promote literacy through “Do You Want to Play Catch?”.  In the book, Draft shares his story of how the simple game of "catch" can teach valuable lessons and build relationships. The vivid, youthful illustrations and heartwarming story will inspire families to get out and 'play catch' as a way to strengthen their family bond while encouraging healthy physical activity.

The foundation literacy focus is not only on childhood literacy, but on promoting the importance of literacy to as many groups as possible, including:

Early Childhood Literacy
A focus on early childhood literacy ensures children enter school with the necessary skills to learn to read well.  The best time for children to learn to love books is when they are young, and the Foundation supports early childhood literacy as a tool to help children experience and discover new things by expanding their intellectual capacity to understand the world around them.  As parents, siblings and caregivers, nurturing a young child’s educational development is critical in raising active, confident learners who become successful readers.

Adolescent Literacy
Literacy development is ongoing, and adolescents require a high degree of literacy to comprehend the wide range of information that must be processed on a daily basis.  The Chris Draft Family Foundation supports utilizing technology as a tool for general learning and literacy building activities.
 
Family Literacy
The Chris Draft Family Foundation supports family literacy and encourages parents to serve as active participants in their children’s education.  The family is the most powerful influence on a child’s success, and learning together fosters an educational bond between parents and their children centered around reading that yields rewards for generations to come.