My name is Fred Underwood. I grew up in Seoul, Korea. My parents were missionaries. I attended McAlister College, a small liberal arts College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I then moved to Chicago to do a semester program. My affinity for the Windy City led me back and I did graduate work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I was a community organizer in the Chicago area. I moved to the District in the in the early 90s. I was the Director of Diversity at the National Association of Realtors for a little more than 30 years and part of that work involved networking with our advocacy efforts in Washington with the various educational arms of the Congressional Black Hispanic and the Asian Pacific American Institute of Congressional Studies.

I met Jimmie through my work Asian Pacific American Institute of Congressional Studies while he was working in financial services. We would run into each other at various conferences. When he moved to the Washington Literacy Center, I liked it. It makes sense that we have such an organization in the DC area. I kind of followed it on Facebook post. Jimmie is well connected and I believed he could and would do some great thing with adult literacy.

A few years back, when I was done with some other financial obligations, sending my kids to college and stuff like that. I started thinking, well, how do I expand my my engagement? You know, with organizations that are doing work that I that I like. And so that's how it started sending some contributions to the Literacy Center. I am of the belief that if I am fortunate enough and have a little bit of power to help others, then I do. It's been part of my DNA since childhood to give back when there is an opportunity to do so. I became a member of WLC's advisory committee for four years. Throughout that time, I have had the opportunity to not just donate but to give time to volunteer at several events and activities. This is not only supporting WLC's mission, it is also showing a personal commitment to the organization's learners.

I have an affinity for the work that WLC that is doing. One is personal to my own life and one was observation in my own life. My observation was going to the school for the blind, which had been supported by my grandmother. It was a school for the blind, in a small city in Korea. I had known of her work, but had never been. And so I went one time and when we got there, the kids were playing kick ball. And I’m like, ok, yes, you're blind, but you learn how to use the existing sensors you need to. To play a game like kick ball, where you where you have to know where the ball is so you can kick it or catch it or you know whatever else you're going to do with it and or throw it.

And I was like. This is this is cool. The kids were having a blast, you know, just like any kids playing a game like that. And I was like, ok, so on one side you can see all right. People you know helping. The kind of work that helps people.

They were exploring the other senses they have, so that they can thrive in society. It wasn't exactly literacy, but it was an opening of my eyes to what was possible. And then it connected with an experience that I had, all of us have this experience, but we're usually too young to remember it, because when we learn to read, we're what, five and six years old. Maybe even earlier now. And so we learned the alphabet, we learned the words. And we go out and now we can see what the sign says. And we know what it is. And I sort of remember with my kids... they knew the corporate logos before they knew how to read! They certainly knew where the fast food restaurants were and which ones they liked, much to to my dismay.

But when they learn to read, it's part of growing up. By the time you become an adult, you don't remember the feelings necessarily that you had as a child. Oh, I finally know what I'm looking for. When I was a little older at the school in Korea, in an English language school, but they they taught us how to read and write in Korean. Korean uses an alphabet, so it's relatively easy to learn the alphabet. Obviously, everything else about the language is just as difficult as any other language. Learning to read and write enabled me suddenly. Being a kid in Korea, to know where I was by looking at the signs. You know, to see directions. Simple things like where's the exit?

I've gone to countries that have different ways of writing and I get back to that feeling of, oh my God, I don't know what I’m doing because I can't read anything. But you know, I mean, fortunately for Americans, much of the world also has lots of things in English. But it still reminded me. It reminds me how frustrated I was before I learned to read Korean. I would see the symbols and I didn't know what they were. So that's what, you know, made me feel an affinity towards work that helps with literacy.

I think WLC’s mission is possible and they are doing wonderful work. I feel strongly that being able to connect in one way or another with the people who are being served by the mission is important. I mean the individual clients, the people learning to read, the people learning to be more literate. Especially when that gets into, not just about reading and writing, but comprehension and being able to express complex ideas as well. Being able to see that, and not necessarily person to person, though that can be helpful, but having those types of stories explored a little further helps. Perhaps on occasion having opportunities to mix with students and volunteers, but doing it in a way that is not exploitive, you know. It's not that I much prefer to know their story and if they're comfortable hanging out with some of the donors, then that's fine. But I think the focus is more on what does this mean to you as a person who now knows how to read or is now equipped with skills to gain employment. Supporters can then see your mission in action.

WLC should be telling more success stories. The ones who have found jobs, they've learned how to read, that kind of thing. Even even the ones that are struggling. I think the struggles of the organization are important too. I don't like this generic company line, you know, like we need all this money. People need to know that but I think a lot of people are drawn in when they can see that what they're doing makes an impact. The impact can be stated. So many different things can be stated in statistics and say we helped, you know, “x” number of people. How many graduated from our initial reading program this month or whatever it is? It's just a way of humanizing the work that you do and the same thing with the volunteers and staff that work at your organization.

I don't think the people that gave money to that school for the blind did it so they would play kickball. They did it so that the kids would learn how to function in society and and use their abilities to compensate for their lack of ability in one area. I see the same thing for the Washington Literacy Center.