With more than 9,800 retail outlets nationwide, Dollar General, in a joint effort with the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) and ProLiteracy, has created a National Literacy Directory website to help families and individuals get help with reading and writing.
As of August 2011, the organization had awarded more than $3 million in grants to 700 schools and other literacy centers.
Grants are available for Summer Reading programs, youth literacy efforts, and Back to School literacy initiatives. Dollar General grant programs are available to qualifying non-profit organizations in the 35 states where Dollar General stores are located.
Additionally, Dollar General is interested in providing funding to assist school libraries and meeting centers as they implement or expand new technology, materials, and software to support literacy programs.
Since more than 30 million adults and millions of children struggle with just the basics of reading, Dollar General is also seeking volunteers.
Dollar General's commitment to literacy is an integral part of the company's culture. In fact, Dollar General's co-founder, J. L. Turner, was functionally illiterate when he started the company.
Dollar General believes learning to read, receiving your GED, or learning the English language is an investment that opens doorways for personal, professional, and economic growth. That is why our commitment to literacy remains strong. It is the one gift that no one can take away—the one gift that lasts a lifetime.
We think so too. Help a school get free reading software by playing Lemons for Literacy at home or in the classroom.