The Dollar General Literacy Foundation Celebrates Largest One-Day Grant Awards with Uplifting Recipient Video
Aug 03, 2020
Goodlettsville, Tenn. – August 3, 2020—The Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently announced its largest one-day literacy grant donations of more than $1.9 million to middle Tennessee organizations. The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support the meaningful work to support literacy and education in the Nashville area continues, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recipients expressed their gratitude through a virtual celebration to commemorate the milestone and receipt of funding. The video is available here: https://newscenter.dollargeneral.com/video_display.cfm?video_id=15087.
“During these extraordinary times, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation remains steadfast in its commitment to support our hometown communities’ literacy and educational advancements through funds that will impact students across Middle Tennessee,” said Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO and Dollar General Literacy Foundation board member. “We are proud to support the meaningful and impactful work of each recipient and support their ongoing efforts to help individuals improve their lives through literacy and education.”
“For more than 26 years, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has invested in local programs that help uplift and empower others through education,” said Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. “In the wake of the pandemic as more youth are in need of academic support and an increased number of adults are looking to enhance their basic skills and employability, we proudly continue our support of basic education and literacy initiatives for individuals of all ages. We are grateful for the hardworking teachers and nonprofit leaders who are serving students in our hometown community and hope these funds help advance their efforts.”
Each year, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awards funds to nonprofit organizations, schools and libraries within a 15-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center to support adult, family, summer and youth literacy programs. Through partnerships with national literacy organizations like the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, XPRIZE Foundation and the American Libraries Association, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation supports organizations that increase access to educational programming, stimulate and enable innovation in the delivery of educational instruction and inspire a love of reading.
A complete list of grant recipients may be found online at www.dgliteracy.org. Middle Tennessee grant recipients include:
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation opens applications to apply for adult, family, summer and youth literacy grants each year, beginning in January. Applicants interested in learning more about the grants offered by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation can visit www.dgliteracy.org for more information.
Dollar General’s commitment to literacy and education is rooted through the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and the company’s co-founder, J.L. Turner. Turner had a third-grade education and was functionally illiterate after dropping out of school to support his family. His grandson and former CEO, Cal Turner, Jr., founded the Dollar General Literacy Foundation in 1993. Since its founding 27 years ago, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $182 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 11 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education.
For additional information, photographs or items to supplement a story, please visit the Dollar General Newsroom or contact the Media Relations Department at 1-877-944-DGPR (3477) or via email at dgpr@dollargeneral.com.
About the Dollar General Literacy Foundation
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support initiatives that help others improve their lives through literacy and education. Since 1993, the Foundation has awarded more than $182 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 11 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy, a general education diploma or English proficiency. To learn more about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, visit www.dgliteracy.org.
Recipients expressed their gratitude through a virtual celebration to commemorate the milestone and receipt of funding. The video is available here: https://newscenter.dollargeneral.com/video_display.cfm?video_id=15087.
“During these extraordinary times, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation remains steadfast in its commitment to support our hometown communities’ literacy and educational advancements through funds that will impact students across Middle Tennessee,” said Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO and Dollar General Literacy Foundation board member. “We are proud to support the meaningful and impactful work of each recipient and support their ongoing efforts to help individuals improve their lives through literacy and education.”
“For more than 26 years, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has invested in local programs that help uplift and empower others through education,” said Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. “In the wake of the pandemic as more youth are in need of academic support and an increased number of adults are looking to enhance their basic skills and employability, we proudly continue our support of basic education and literacy initiatives for individuals of all ages. We are grateful for the hardworking teachers and nonprofit leaders who are serving students in our hometown community and hope these funds help advance their efforts.”
Each year, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awards funds to nonprofit organizations, schools and libraries within a 15-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center to support adult, family, summer and youth literacy programs. Through partnerships with national literacy organizations like the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, XPRIZE Foundation and the American Libraries Association, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation supports organizations that increase access to educational programming, stimulate and enable innovation in the delivery of educational instruction and inspire a love of reading.
A complete list of grant recipients may be found online at www.dgliteracy.org. Middle Tennessee grant recipients include:
| Organization | City | County |
| Antioch Middle School | Antioch | Davidson |
| Backfield in Motion, Inc. | Nashville | Davidson |
| Bedford County Department of Education | Shelbyville | Bedford |
| Belmont University | Nashville | Davidson |
| Book Em | Nashville | Davidson |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County - Murfreesboro Unit | Murfreesboro | Rutherford |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County - Shelbyville Unit | Shelbyville | Bedford |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County - Smyrna Unit | Smyrna | Rutherford |
| Bridges for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing | Nashville | Davidson |
| Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc. | Nashville | Davidson |
| Christian Women's Job Corps of Middle TN | Nashville | Davidson |
| Communities in Schools of Tennessee | Nashville | Davidson |
| Conexion Americas | Nashville | Davidson |
| Elijah's Heart | Nashville | Davidson |
| Fannie Battle Day Home for Children | Nashville | Davidson |
| Friends of the Gallatin Public Library | Gallatin | Sumner |
| Gentry's Education Center at the Store Front | Franklin | Williamson |
| Glencliff High School | Nashville | Davidson |
| Global Outreach Developments, Intl. | Old Hickory | Davidson |
| Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee | Nashville | Davidson |
| Hattie Cotton STEM Magnet Elementary | Nashville | Davidson |
| Humanities Tennessee | Nashville | Davidson |
| Improve Hendersonville | Hendersonville | Sumner |
| Instruction Partners | Nashville | Davidson |
| LEAD Public Schools | Nashville | Davidson |
| Legacy Mission Village | Brentwood | Williamson |
| Literacy Council of Sumner County | Hendersonville | Sumner |
| Martha O'Bryan Center | Nashville | Davidson |
| Martin Methodist College | Pulaski | Giles |
| McNeilly Center for Children | Nashville | Davidson |
| Monroe Harding, Inc. | Nashville | Davidson |
| Nashville Adult Literacy Council, Inc. | Nashville | Davidson |
| Nashville International Center for Empowerment | Nashville | Davidson |
| Nashville Opportunities Industrialization Center, Inc. | Nashville | Davidson |
| Nashville Public Library Foundation | Nashville | Davidson |
| Nashville Public Television | Nashville | Davidson |
| Nashville Safe Haven Family Shelter, Inc. | Nashville | Davidson |
| Project Transformation Tennessee, Inc. | Nashville | Davidson |
| Read To Achieve | Nashville | Davidson |
| Read To Succeed | Murfreesboro | Rutherford |
| Riverdale High School | Murfreesboro | Rutherford |
| St. Luke's Community House | Nashville | Davidson |
| STEM Preparatory Academy | Nashville | Davidson |
| Sumner County Adult Education Advisory Council | Gallatin | Sumner |
| Sumner County Schools | Gallatin | Sumner |
| Teach For America, Inc. | Nashville | Davidson |
| Tennessee Foreign Language Institute Fund, Inc. | Nashville | Davidson |
| Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) | Nashville | Davidson |
| The Branch of Nashville, Inc. | Antioch | Davidson |
| The Institute for Educational Volunteer Programs | Mount Juliet | Wilson |
| The King's Daughters Day Home | Madison | Davidson |
| University School of Nashville | Nashville | Davidson |
| Why We Can't Wait, Inc. | Goodlettsville | Davidson |
| Workers' Dignity Project | Nashville | Davidson |
| Young Men's Christian Association of Nashville and Middle Tennessee | Nashville | Davidson |
| YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee | Nashville | Davidson |
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation opens applications to apply for adult, family, summer and youth literacy grants each year, beginning in January. Applicants interested in learning more about the grants offered by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation can visit www.dgliteracy.org for more information.
Dollar General’s commitment to literacy and education is rooted through the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and the company’s co-founder, J.L. Turner. Turner had a third-grade education and was functionally illiterate after dropping out of school to support his family. His grandson and former CEO, Cal Turner, Jr., founded the Dollar General Literacy Foundation in 1993. Since its founding 27 years ago, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $182 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 11 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education.
For additional information, photographs or items to supplement a story, please visit the Dollar General Newsroom or contact the Media Relations Department at 1-877-944-DGPR (3477) or via email at dgpr@dollargeneral.com.
About the Dollar General Literacy Foundation
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support initiatives that help others improve their lives through literacy and education. Since 1993, the Foundation has awarded more than $182 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 11 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy, a general education diploma or English proficiency. To learn more about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, visit www.dgliteracy.org.