Literacy Foundation to Support Youth Literacy

LEACHVILLE – The Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently awarded BIC East Elementary School a $3000 grant to support youth literacy. This grant is part of more than $4 million the organization awarded to more than 960 recipients on Sept. 7. Awarded annually at the academic school year’s inception, youth literacy grants help support teachers, schools and nonprofit organizations throughout the 44 states that Dollar General serves.

The grant was completed back in the spring by Nancy Spencer, under the mentorship of Shelly Hurst, as part of Spencer’s graduate work in the library media program at the University of Central Arkansas. The funds will be used to purchase Playaways for the elementary school library. A Playaway is a preloaded audio book that students can check-out from the library. It supports the literacy initiative in the school by providing a model of fluency that students can access while they read. This purchase will significantly expand the library’s collection of audio books.

“Through our mission of Serving Others, we are excited to support literacy and education across the communities we call home,” said Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s chief executive officer. “We hope the Dollar General Literacy Foundation’s youth literacy grants help strengthen literacy programs, expand library collections, inspire a love of reading in students and make a distinct impact to enhance the lives of children.”

Since its inception in 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $140 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than nine million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education as part of its commitment to helping increase the literacy skills for individuals of all ages.