A million pages.

That's the challenge the Literacy Project of North Idaho, a nonprofit, is issuing to people of all ages and reading levels in a sweeping effort to unite the community through a friendly competition while reducing the stigma associated with low literacy.

“We thought we’d do something fun,” Literacy Project founder and current board member Kat Gilmore said Monday. "So we came up with this idea to read one million pages."

Individuals, families, schools, businesses, churches and all groups in Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Sandpoint, Rathdrum, Hayden and surrounding areas are encouraged to join the North Idaho Reads One Million Pages reading challenge. This free, six-month literacy event will pit communities against each other as residents work collaboratively and competitively to log the number of pages read between March 15 and Aug. 31.

Signups open Sunday.

“We’re very ambitious," Gilmore said. "We’re hoping for 300 people at least, maybe more."

In an age of social media, reels and easily accessible TV, the challenge requires participants to immerse themselves in books, magazines and newspapers, but not audiobooks. One Million Pages intentionally focuses on the ability to read and process words on a page, highlighting and supporting individuals who are working to build foundational reading skills.

“It doesn’t have to be ‘Moby Dick,’” Gilmore said. “It could be poetry, it could be the Bible. It could be whatever you want.”

This challenge honors the ability to read.

"That’s something precious we’ve got to hold onto," she said. "It is a privilege that others don’t have. We’re heading into a world of quick gratification where we just watch TV, and that’s a danger zone right there. You don’t get to stop and think too much; it comes at you so fast. In a paper book, just reading, stopping, and thinking, we forget it’s fun and that we like it.

"I want everybody to fall in love with reading again."

According to data from ProLiteracy, an adult education nonprofit dedicated to advancing adult literacy, 59 million adults in the U.S., or one in five, struggle with basic reading, writing, math and computer skills. That number was about 37 million when Gilmore founded the Literacy Project in 2020.

“This problem is 100% solvable and only getting worse," Gilmore said.

Only 10% of people who need literacy services are receiving them, according to ProLiteracy.

“That’s it; 10% out of 100%,” Gilmore said. “There’s 90% out there who need services who are not getting them. That’s hard. How do you get this information out to a non-reading public?”

Hence, the community-wide reading challenge.

Those who sign up for One Million Pages will receive yard signs to announce their participation.

“This is where we hit low literacy,” Gilmore said. “We’re getting everybody talking about reading."

Board member Cameron-Luc Darmstadt said the challenge will bring more visibility to the struggles that accompany low adult literacy. He said reading offers an opportunity.

“It can change people’s lives,” Darmstadt said. “You have the ability to get your own bank account, read a prescription bottle, be able to even shop. It’s so important to everyday life.” 

The Literacy Project of North Idaho, supported by grants and donations, provides free one-on-one low-literacy tutoring and English as a second language classes to help adults improve their reading, writing and English skills.

It is a recipient of grant funding from the Cancer and Community Charities nonprofit, which has supported the Literacy Project's work to break the stigma surrounding low literacy.

"I just appreciate the fact that we finally have somebody that is out there opening the doors and saying, 'Hey, if you're having a problem, come in and we’ll help you,'" 3Cs President Judy Gardner said Friday.

Gardner said she struggled with reading as a child for various reasons until she discovered Walter Farley's "Black Stallion" series in middle school.

When the 3Cs first interviewed the Literacy Project about grant requests, Gardner told them, "I was one of those kids."

"I just think it’s really important, and the community needs to get behind them and support them," she said. "If you can't read, how can you function?"

The Literacy Project is in the midst of a restructuring that eliminated a traditional executive director position, allowing it to focus its funding on literacy and outreach more efficiently.

"Our program is managed really well, but we’d like to go back and expand some of our services, like digital literacy," Gilmore said.

Participants will track pages in an online reading journal. Raffle drawings, friendly competitions, newsletters with updated stats and fun side hustles, shared reading recommendations, and community events will celebrate participation along the way.

Visit theliteracyprojectni.org for details.