Johnny Gilchrist held a steady job for 28 years, raised a family onLong Island, N.Y., and sent one child to college-even though he wasbarely able to read. For decades, while Gilchrist was working full-timeat a warehouse, there was no chance to improve. But when he retired hefound himself with time on his hands, so he vowed to master the skillthat had eluded him since he was a child."It's hard, when you're 60 years old, to tell people you can't read asgood as a second-grade kid," Gilchrist says.

One day he took his twograndchildren to the Roosevelt Public Library to play computer games.He couldn't read notices on the bulletin board, but a friendly staffmember there answered his questions. That's how he learned aboutservices offered by Literacy Nassau, a ProLiteracy America affiliate.Now, Gilchrist can read stories in News for You, the weeklynewspaper published by New Readers Press. When he dines at a restauranthe can read the menu. He can pay bills online, and he can read hisdaughter's e-mails. She loves that part, because she often sends himhis babysitting schedule that way.

Someday Gilchrist would like to earn his GED. Meanwhile, he wants tolearn to write his own e-mail messages so he can answer his daughter'se-mails without picking up the phone. If another person is thinkingabout going back to school to learn to read and write as an adult, hereis what Gilchrist would advise: "Join a program as fast as possible. Goout and seek help. It's there." You can hear more about Johnny by goingto: www.proliteracy.org/students/profiles_j-gilchrist.asp [1]