About Us

Literacy Now (originally known as Making It Better) was founded in 2006 with a vision to help children rise above their circumstances through tutoring, mentoring, and other services. Since its founding, our organization has grown from serving one school with 91 students to serving more than 2,200 children and their parents in Houston area Title I elementary campuses and in multiple economically disadvantaged community sites during the 2024-2025 school year. Since its inception, Literacy Now has empowered more than 28,000 children and their parents, and our impact continues to grow.

Our Mission

is to empower children and families through literacy.

Our Vision

for every child to read at grade level.
Literacy Now provides reading readiness and reading intervention programs, parent engagement – all elements contributing to children's long-term success. We support children and their families throughout Houston with our overarching goal to empower students to read at grade level, thereby increasing the likelihood that children will graduate from high school and be ready to pursue post-secondary goals.
Executive Director

JACQUE DAUGHTRY

Jacque received her bachelor’s degree in Business, with an emphasis in Personnel Management, from the University of Houston and has 25 years’ experience in accounting and business management in the for-profit sector. Her passion for serving children and her community as a church volunteer and in multiple volunteer capacities at each HISD school her children attended, paved the way for her to help launch Making It Better in 2006. Jacque considers it an honor and privilege to serve the organization’s students, their dedicated staff and board of directors, and their Houston ISD partner schools.

2021-22 By The Numbers

People
Served

0
Students
0
Adults

53%

Female

47%

Male

51%

Hispanic

40%

African
American

5%

White

3%

Asian

1%

Other

Ages: 2 months – 11 years old

12,000

Books Distributed

93%

low-income Household

809

k-2nd Grade students served in reading intervention in 14 HISD and 1 aldine isd schools

493

Parents/Caregivers served through parent workshops and Literacy Distribution kits

98

3rd - 5th Graders served in Lunch Bunch Program on 4 Campuses

100

children and their parents hopped on board the Reading Express mobile classroom

610

Dedicated volunteers provided 1,310 hours, having an estimated economic value of more than $39,000

Over the past 15 years

we have served over 22,000 children and parents