History

The story of WGI begins in 2014 in Baton Rouge, the state capital of the US State of Louisiana.

At the time a then 14 year old named Chance Wilson was in the eighth grade at Westdale Middle School. Chance was, in many ways, your average teenager. He could be found playing video games (a big Kingdom Hearts fan) or listening to music (an even bigger Ariana Grande fan). Chance was very passionate about helping others and this was evident to anyone who met him. This passion was so strong that Chance eventually wanted to attend medical school and become a Doctor. He saw public service as the most noble of professions. Chance would ultimately pursue a career in public service - albeit different that he ever imagined.  

Chance’s school was located in heart of Baton Rouge, a diverse city with deep cultural and historical significance. He interacted with students from every socioeconomic background. This allowed Chance to see the world from other perspectives and, unfortunately, learn a hard truth: Not everyone in life had the same opportunities. This became evident when he noticed that some fellow students were unable to read and write. He witnessed vividly as students in his different classes struggled to read aloud from a book or a play. 

This reality shocked Chance as he had been well educated up until that point. Chance’s mother read to him every night as a child and this created a lifelong appreciation for literacy. In fact, Chance was reading at a college level by sixth grade and tested in the highest national percentile in his standardized testing. So he found it deeply disturbing that some of his friends couldn’t read and write at all. It disturbed him even more that, somehow, these students made it all the way to the eighth grade while being functionally illiterate.

Chance was a naturally curious person. He was intrigued by the world and wanted to understand why it was the way it was. This meant he could not ignore his peers being unable to read and write. He recognized that the situation was wrong and wanted to get to the root of the problem. So he approached his teachers and sought their insights. The consensus was they lacked the resources and support needed from the local school board to educate students properly. Armed with this insight, Chance reached out to all the local school board members and requested meetings to the discuss the situation. None of them responded to his requests. 

Angered by the situation, Chance dug deeper and began to research illiteracy and its impact. He was shocked. He learned the issue was not just limited to his school. Instead, there were hundreds of millions of people around the world who couldn’t read and write - just like his friends at school. Chance knew then he had to take action.

Chance decided to start an organization dedicated to helping people learn to read and write. He felt that, if he took the first step in championing this mission, others would join and help make a difference. He would call this organization the Wilson Global Initiative and focus on mobilizing people and resources into communities to teach students how to read and write. WGI was born.

WGI began to quickly take shape in Baton Rouge. Chance recruited local leaders to join his Board and together they started making an impact in the community. WGI’s earliest work included deploying volunteers into schools to tutor students, and organizing book drives so students had books to read. It was inspiring for Chance to see his vision come to life - and to be in a position to combat this issue he had focused intensely on.

These activities went on for about a year when Chance made a realization: The issue was a global one and he had to address it that way. So, with the early successes WGI saw in his hometown, he began reaching out to civic and business leaders in various cities. His pitch was simple: Here is an issue, here’s what I’m doing about it, help me do more.

WGI ultimately grew to operate in ten cities around the world. These were Baton Rouge, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Dar Es Salaam. It’s work in these places helped thousands of people learn to read and write.

Today WGI, led by the now 21 year old Chance, is continuing this work through its new mobile app Lyra. Developed in partnership with GE, Lyra can teach a user to read and write for free just from a mobile device. This new focus will allow WGI to reach even more people around the world, which was the dream from the earliest days.