Better Tomorrows Adult Education Center

Description

Better Tomorrows Adult Education Center (BTAEC) predominantly serves an area of Nashville in which almost half of all adults lack a high school diploma and nearly 1/3 are functionally illiterate. Thirteen percent are unemployed and many others struggle to make a livable wage, placing one in three below the poverty line. Using exclusively volunteer efforts, BTAEC offers free literacy, GED preparation, computer and office skills, and employment readiness courses. These programs not only help to revive students' self image, they are recognized as keys to advancement, further education, personal goals, and financial rewards - options that will help our students overcome the cycle of poverty.

As the only program of our kind in this area, BTAEC is inundated with well over 100 students on our waiting list. In addition to serving those waiting, we want to expand our curriculum; however, we are currently teaching out of spare rooms in a church and lack the space to expand. We have leased an historic house from the church for $1/year and plan to renovate the now uninhabitable space into an active community center to serve as a beacon of light and hope for the people of Nashville.