Support our Community Partners: The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation

We are very excited to introduce you to the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF), one of our incredible community partners. ALNF is a non-for-profit that exists to raise language, literacy and numeracy standards in Australia, with a specific focus on Indigenous, disadvantaged and refugee communities. They believe that literacy is freedom. Literacy allows individuals access to education and participate meaningfully in society. ALNF supports individuals, families, communities and schools through resources and training. The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation was founded in 1999 by Mary-Ruth Mendel, a leading speech pathologist and Kim Kelly a business woman and advocate for the power of literacy. Yarn supports ALNF through a number of innovative projects and promotion via our social media and blog platforms. This organisation does incredible work to improve the lives of young people through literacy it would be wonderful if you would like to support their important work through donating. 

Here at Yarn we strongly believe equal opportunity for all, it is one of the core values that our platform actively supports through creating opportunities for First Nations artists and small businesses. This is why we support ALNF. They provide marginalized communities with the resources and opportunities that young people need to thrive. Currently Yarn supports ALNF through marketing and promotion via our social media, blog and newsletter. We also have a number of exciting projects in the works including designing and producing custom tote bags and face masks for ALNF. Yarn has also supported ALNF through our Young Artists Competition, keep your eyes peeled for the gorgeous limited edition collection coming soon! 100% of the profits will be donated directly to ALNF, Gunawirra and Nutrition Plus. Yarn and ALNF have a strong shared commitment to contribute to the Indigenous community’s well being.

“We are thrilled to be in partnership with Yarn, who are truly committed to amplifying Indigenous voices and wisdom. Through a number of innovative projects, we will work together to ensure that we can break the cycle of illiteracy and disadvantage for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. It is a privilege to work alongside an organisation, that like ALNF, is so passionate about uplifting and supporting communities across the nation.” - Kim Kelly, ALNF Co-Founder, Executive Director

One of the key challenges ALNF faces when implementing literacy programs into communities is the lack of basic literacy resources available to students. This is a barrier that they help overcome with the Literacy Packs initiative. These packs provide the resources needed to encourage learning in home and school environments. The Literacy Packs are distributed to targeted communities across Australia including Tennant Creek, Palm Island, Groote Eylandt and Kempsey. The packs are created for a wide range of learning levels from preschool through to high school. They include a Share-A-Book and other age appropriate literacy resources, such as kinaesthetic resources for pre-schoolers and dictionaries for high school students.

“The donation of the literacy packs were a valuable resource utilised in our planned work with vulnerable families and have helped reinforce the work we have done to promote literacy for all children.” - Area Manager, Brighter Futures Southern Sydney.

ALNF are also behind the award winning Living First Languages Platform. It is an incredible platform that preserves and revitalises Indigenous first languages through dynamic, community-led interactive digital literacy apps. Here in Australian this platform is vital as first languages are disappearing at a faster rate than anywhere in the world. These languages play an important role in the health, cultural wellbeing and education of First Nation peoples. Within Australia 81,100 people identify as a speaker of an Indigenous language and the 276,300 people identify language as an important part of heritage. ALNF’s technology offers a fast and efficient solution to effectively capture and share languages with everyone. Through the platform they hope that this initiative will also help strengthen communities and bridge cultural divides.

ALNF makes a huge impact on the lives of young Indigenous Australians and communities through literacy. They foster a love of learning and educate kids so that they can move forward with bright futures.

ALNF also has a gorgeous range of merchandise featuring the wonderful slogan 'Literacy is Freedom'. Shop the collection here.