Learn Without Limits:
Helping Every Child
Read and Succeed
Every Child Deserves the Chance to Learn and Thrive
Millions of children across the U.S. face barriers to learning, especially in rural communities where access to books, early childhood education, nutritious food and other essential resources can be limited. Save the Children’s Learn Without Limits initiative is working to help every child build the skills they need to succeed.
Inside the Rural Education Crisis
2 in 3
2 in 3 American kids can’t read at grade level by their 10th birthday.
40%
40% of all rural kids qualify for free and reduced-price school meals.
23%
Children in rural communities are 23% more likely to live in poverty.
30
Most rural children don’t have access to a single childcare center within a 30-minute drive.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does poverty impact children in rural America?
Kids in rural communities have less access to the resources they need to thrive, like early childhood education, learning opportunities and nutritious food.
- Children in rural areas are 23% more likely to live in poverty than children in non-rural areas.
- 40% of all rural kids qualify for free and reduced-price school meals, making them especially vulnerable to food insecurity.
- Rural households are burdened with high costs, spending on average 28% of their income on transportation, 24% of their income on housing, and around 10% of their income on child care.
- On average, rural families earn nearly $30,000 less per year than non-rural families.
- In the 39 states with available data, rural 3rd – 8th graders are, on average, half a grade behind non-rural students in reading.
How do Save the Children’s programs help fill critical learning gaps?
Save the Children collaborates with diverse rural American communities and provides resources for the kids who need support most — so they enter kindergarten ready to learn and reach critical goals in the 3rd and 5th grades. With a common focus on making a lifelong impact for children, our experts work with community leaders to help all kids thrive.
- In 2025, 97% of teachers said our KinderBoost program was effective in supporting a smooth transition to kindergarten for participating children.
- 68% of K-6th graders in our math programs achieved typical or high growth – exceeding the national average of 65%.
- 70% of K-6th graders in our literacy programs made typical or high gains in reading – also exceeding the national average of 65%.
What’s Save the Children’s goal for Learn Without Limits?
Learn Without Limits (LWL) is Save the Children's signature multi-year campaign developed to raise awareness and support for our U.S. programs. Our vision is to get every child reading by grade 3 – because when a child learns to read, their future is limitless!
LWL has four key components:
- Early childhood education
- Grade-school proficiency
- Food security
- Closing the teacher gap
This powerful, nationwide movement spotlights rural America’s education crisis and empowers families, communities and local partners to drive lasting change.
What is the National Day of Action and Giving?
We are launching Learn without Limits with a National Day of Action and Giving on September 8, World Literacy Day. We encourage people to join the movement to get all kids reading by grade 3, by taking one or more of three simple actions: Read, Share, Give. While the National Day of Action and Giving is “one day”, our efforts to help all kids reach their full potential and thrive goes on all year long.
How can you help kids Learn Without Limits?
There are many ways to invest in Save the Children’s work in rural America, ensuring we’re able to provide the resources and education support kids need to succeed – as learners and in life.
- DONATE: Your gift can help provide essentials like school supplies, books and nutritious food to kids across the U.S.
- LEARN MORE: Explore our work in rural America and worldwide.
- FUNDRAISE: Start a fundraiser in your community!
Help Every Child Learn Without Limits
Help us launch Learn Without Limits on our nationwide Day of Action and Giving! Here are 3 easy ways to help every child read by grade 3.
Read
Spend 10 minutes a day reading with a child in your life. To help, we’ll share our FREE reading toolkit, Raise Curious Readers, when you sign up now!
Share
Gift your favorite book, support a local teacher and be a reading role model for kids.
Give
Help provide the learning essentials, nutritious food and other support kids need to thrive for life.
The cover of Save the Children's free downloadable PDF, Reading Together.
Opening Doors for Every Child
All children are born to dream big, but not every student has the support they need to succeed. We can change that. The future is theirs--let's help them reach it!
How We’re Helping Kids Learn Without Limits
Tatiana at a Elementary School in Washington
Early Childhood Education
Our programs create high-quality child-care spaces and offer personalized home visits to prepare kids and their caregivers for kindergarten.
15-year-old Akeelah, 15, scans the library bookshelf at her high school in Mississippi.
School-Age Education
We provide in-school, after-school and summer learning support to help students hit key reading and math milestones and give schools the tools to keep kids on track.
9-year-old Eliza goes through the lunch line during SummerBoost camp in West Virginia.
Food Security
We close food access gaps and get nutritious meals to the most vulnerable families — because kids can’t learn when they’re hungry.
2-year-old Bella and Save the Children staff member Saulteasha together during a visit from Save the Children's mobile classroom
Closing the Teacher Gap
We shrink child-care deserts by increasing the number of qualified educators, supporting child-care centers and expanding access to high-quality services.
Your Impact
8-year-old Lee Arthur reads with Grandma Chestnut in the Save the Children room in Mississippi
Every $1 invested in early childhood education returns $7 to $12 in benefits for the whole society.
Our Partners in Helping Kids Learn Without Limits
Learn Without Limits is made possible with the support of partners who share our commitment to helping children access the education, resources and opportunities they need to learn and thrive. Together, we're working to help remove barriers to learning for children and families across the United States.
National Presenting Sponsors
For nearly a decade, Dollar General Literacy Foundation has helped Save the Children expand early literacy programs in rural communities and advance data-driven solutions through our Rural Child Well-Being Dashboards.
Since 2005, Mattel and Save the Children have partnered to improve outcomes for children in the U.S. and around the world, helping expand access to early childhood development opportunities, learning through play, basic education and emergency response programs.
Building on decades of partnership with Save the Children, Scholastic helps expand access to books and literacy resources through Learn Without Limits, empowering children to grow critical reading skills and confidence.
