Barbara Bush pioneered a literacy movement across America and believed that learning how to read, write, and comprehend was a fundamental human right. Using her platform as U.S. First Lady, she placed her cause of literacy at the forefront of our nation’s priorities, advocating it to be an economic, social, and moral imperative. Mrs. Bush gave generously and selflessly for more than three decades to raise awareness of our country’s pervasive literacy crisis and to garner increased support through volunteerism and funding so that more families had access to the essential literacy programs and resources to be successful in the workplace, in the family, and in society.

She also held with conviction that two-generation approaches of family literacy were paramount in breaking the generational cycle of low literacy – that if we teach parents how to read, they will, in turn, teach their children how to read. Thus, Mrs. Bush played a significant role in the passage of the National Literacy Act of 1991, through which countless adults received a second chance at learning how to read and becoming empowered with the competencies and confidence to be their child’s first and most important teacher.

Mrs. Bush’s indelible legacy lives on through her namesake foundations – the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, and the George & Barbara Bush Foundation. Indeed, we are the living legacy of Barbara Bush and remain grateful for the many generous donors who contribute their time, talent, and treasure to bettering the lives of others through literacy. Mrs. Bush’s vision of literacy for all continues to inspire us, and she shall forever remain a beacon of light for the countless individuals who live in the darkness of low literacy.