“What do you do when you have enough?”

For Available Plastics, Inc. President and CANDL Foundation Co-Founder Lou Brown, the answer is simple.  “You give it away.” 

Thanks to the 28-year success of the PVC manufacturing company in Huntsville, Alabama, Lou and his wife, Carolyn, are able to put their money to work for children in a unique way.  By starting the CANDL Foundation and using an innovative product made by their company, they provide schools all across the United States with a tool that helps improve literacy.

Using “elbows” of PVC pipe fitted together, Available Plastics began making the Phonics Phones in 2000.  When students read aloud, the device allows them to hear themselves much more clearly when they practice.  They are able to work on word pronunciation and improve their phonics skills by using the phones.  By using the phones, their practice time is more productive.  Since practice makes perfect, children become better readers, which in turn helps them across the board in their other subjects.  

The first Phonics Phones were donated Chapman Elementary School in Huntsville through the CANDL Foundation as part of a pilot program.   Teachers soon reported a dramatic impact on reading skills, and word of the program’s success spread quickly in Huntsville and surrounding systems.

Other schools began making requests, and soon the phones were not only in North Alabama, but were also shipped to schools all over the state.  From there, the Foundation reached out to other states to offer the Phonics Phones to even more children.

To date, The CANDL Foundation has distributed over 750,000 phones and has shipped phones to every state in the country.  But Lou Brown doesn’t want it to stop there.  He says there are still millions of children who need them, and he wants phones to be available not only in every state, but also in every school – public and private. 

The program has proven particularly effective for students in Kindergarten – 2nd grades, and has also been highly effective in special reading classes and in English as a Second Language (ESL) programs.  Because of the success in the early elementary grades, the Foundation has chosen to expand its distribution to preschools as well as elementary schools in order to make a difference at even younger ages.   

All of this is made possible through the generosity of Available Plastics, Inc. and The CANDL Foundation.  Perhaps most importantly, Lou plans to continue the success of his manufacturing business in order to impact education through more donations and grants.  His goals remain steadfast. 

“We want to make a difference for every child.”