R. Kali Woodward founded American Youth Literacy Foundation to help children like his son who struggle with learning to read.
According to ThinkImpact, about 21% of U.S. adults are illiterate in 2025, and 54% of adults have literacy below a 6th-grade level.
Difficulties with reading comprehension can have a large impact on a person’s daily life from understanding medication instructions to being able to complete job applications.
R. Kali Woodward, executive director of The American Youth Literacy Foundation, told Access Network that is why his nonprofit’s mission is “to save millions of children from an illiterate life”.
The foundation was started in 2008 and is based in Phoenixville.
Woodward first began on this journey when he noticed that his son was struggling with learning to read. To make understanding the rules of the English language easier, his foundation created a reading curriculum called FUNetix® which is now available as a free app for children ages 5 to 9.
The curriculum was developed over years of working with children from all socio-economic backgrounds across the country. The foundation is also now doing pilot testing in other countries.
Woodward explained that what makes reading the English language challenging is that the spoken language has 44 sounds, but only 26 of them have been given a name in the alphabet. FUNetix uses diacritics to give every sound in the English language a name.
For example, the “ea” in “beach” sounds different from the “ea” in “head”. On the FUNEtix app, symbols are positioned above words to tell the reader what sound the letter or letters make.
The app, which includes fun adventures as well as learning, is free to download. Woodward said in just 12 hours of curriculum, a child can achieve an approximate 2nd -grade reading level.
He explained that both parents and educators can use it to supplement classroom learning.
While the app is free to download, Woodward and his team understand that not every child has access to a smartphone or tablet, so the foundation also raises money to donate free tablets to kids in need. You can make a donation here.
To learn more about FUNEtix and The American Youth Literacy Foundation and how you can help support the nonprofit’s mission, visit funetix.org.
