The Dollar General Literacy Foundation announced an award of $255,000 in literacy grants to Florida nonprofit organizations, libraries and schools May 11. The funds aim to support adult, family and summer literacy programs within a 20-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center across the 44 states the chain serves, with the potential to impact the lives of nearly 13,000 Floridians.
“Dollar General is excited to provide these organizations with funding to support literacy and education throughout the 44 states we serve,” said Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO. “Providing these grants and supporting the communities we call home reflects our mission of serving others and it’s rewarding to see the impact these funds have.”
Statewide grants are part of more than $7.5 million that the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded in May, with recipients planning to use the funds to help adults learn to read, prepare for the high school equivalency exam, promote childhood summer reading or learn English. In Jacksonville, grant recipients included Learn to Read, Inc. in the amount of $8,000; the Women’s Center of Jacksonville in the amount of $10,000; Educating Young Minds Services in the amount of $2,000 and Heart for Children, Inc. in the amount of $1,500. Meanwhile, two grants were awarded to the Jacksonville Public Libraries Foundation in the amounts of $4,900 and $2,000, respectively. A comprehensive list of grant recipients can be found online at www.dgliteracy.org.
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation accepted applications for youth literacy grants through May 18, the funds of which support schools, public libraries and nonprofit organizations by implementing new or expanding existing literacy efforts. Funding can also be used to purchase new technology, equipment, books, materials or software to enhance literacy programs.
