Longtime supporter Frances Sebesta donates to Beyond Basics each month from her home in Sydney, Australia. We caught up with Frances over email to discover why Beyond Basics is central to her philanthropy.

How did you first encounter Beyond Basics?

As a retired art teacher who also had experience assessing students’ literacy skills, I read entries from Detroit in an international writing competition, and the stories the students shared about their struggles resonated with me. It seemed that ‘childhood’ for these students was something that happened to other people.

I searched online for a charitable Detroit organization to support, one that provides educational assistance, and what attracted me to Beyond Basics was that in addition to tutoring, it also offers enriching exposure to the arts through its Expanding Horizons programs.

Why does our mission resonate with you?

My mother left school at 14 and raised three little girls on her own. She believed education was the key to lifting people out of poverty. I was the first girl from my mother’s side of the family to complete high school and go on to higher education. If you are instrumental in helping children read so that their lives can be improved, you have my financial support - it can't be done on promises and air. I am happy to give continually to Beyond Basics. I see a steady expansion of the program and that students appreciate it. That’s all the evidence I need.

What is your favorite book?

That is a hard question. There are two books that I have re-read: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler. They are completely different in plot and character but they both address the question, “What is it that makes us human?" Perhaps all great literature explores this question. But these two books touched me profoundly by what they were saying.

What has reading brought to your life?

I have always loved reading, even though, as a child, we had very few books at home. The school library was the source of books for me then. Today, I have very broad tastes in reading; I have read every play written by Tennessee Williams, and I enjoy reading historical fiction and history. Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series, a fictional account of the rise and fall of Julius Caesar and the founding of the Roman Empire is extraordinary.

Join Frances in supporting our mission to eradicate illiteracy! Make your gift here.