Moonlight Coalition for Adult Learning!

What is Moonlight?

The Moonlight Coalition for Adult Learning (“Moonlight”) was originally established in 1994 to provide organized activities for young members of the community to combat juvenile delinquency and prevent crime. Organized sports like basketball were combined with GED instruction as a way to break down barriers for those who thought formal education wasn’t accessible or “cool”.

Today, Moonlight is focused on bringing accessible, flexible GED and adult literacy education to adults ages 17 and over where they reside. In collaboration with the Peoria Park District, Peoria Park District Foundation, and the Peoria County Regional Office of Education, Moonlight provides programming at Proctor and Logan Recreation Centers, the East Bluff Community Center, and at other locations at times when students are available.

What can YOU do?

Help our Moonlight GED graduates take the next step to self-sufficiency! The Moonlight Coalition for Adult Learning, with the support of the Peoria Park District Foundation, will open an airside gift shop at the Peoria International Airport in March 2015. Staffed primarily by community volunteers and GED graduates, proceeds from the venture will support current drop-in GED training offered at Proctor and Logan Recreation Centers and the East Bluff Community Center. You can help by underwriting wages for trained GED graduates working at the airport as they gain experiences that will make them more competitive in today's job market!

Why should you help?

More than ever before, education is the key to success in our ever-increasingly complex world. In Peoria, there are so many of our young people who find themselves reaching adulthood without a high school diploma or without being able to read well enough to achieve a successful life. 24% of all adults 25 or older living in our City do NOT have a high school diploma!

Even more staggering, 40% of adults residing in the 61605 zip code do not hold a high school degree or equivalent. Your gift now will help Moonlight maintain its current education programming while also launching an opportunity to continue to improve the lives of its graduates through employment enrichment opportunities at the Peoria International Airport.

What can your donation do?

$5 can purchase GED study and practice test materials for a GED student. $12 helps to cover the costs of an hour of employment of a GED student in our Moonlight gift shop. $25 pays for one hour of GED tuturing. And every time we receive donations totalling $120, we can provide a scholarship for a student to take the GED exam. Every dollar you donate can change a life!