During a special ceremony at the Springlake-Earth Independent School District campus, Jeff Owen, Dollar General’s executive vice president of store operations and development, reflected on letters the Company received in fall 2017 from the school district’s superintendent and students asking for Dollar General to add a store to their community. Their heartfelt outreach led the Company to evaluate the feasibility of a store to serve Lamb County and ultimately for that new store to serve as the 1,500th milestone location in the Lone Star State.
Next, Owen presented the school with a black and yellow gift box. As the box was opened, they were elated to find a $50,000 donation to benefit the school’s literacy and education efforts!
The donation from Dollar General is part of its Reading Revolution program, which aims to provide schools with additional resources to purchase books, computers and other educational supplies to enhance their reading and literacy programs. Since its inception in 2013, the program has provided more than $2.9 million to schools.
“Through our charitable outreach, we strive to make a real and lasting impact on children and families,” said Denine Torr, Dollar General’s senior director of community initiatives. “We believe the one gift that lasts a lifetime and provides individuals with the opportunity for a better future is the ability to read well. We hope this gift will help inspire a love of reading, which will make such a difference for these students as they progress with their education.”
Grand Opening Celebration Information
Dollar General plans to celebrate the Earth, Texas store’s official grand opening on Saturday, May 4. Located at 305 E. Main St., the store will provide free prizes and special deals that included $10 Dollar General gift cards to the first 50 adult shoppers and tote bags with complimentary product samples to the first 200 shoppers.
“We are thrilled to celebrate our 1,500th store milestone in Texas and to provide $50,000 in Reading Revolution funding, which should enrich literacy and education initiatives in the Earth community both now and for years to come,” said Jeff Owen, Dollar General’s executive vice president of store operations. “Dollar General has expanded its footprint in Texas from our first store in April 1977 to today. We love our connection with Lone Star state residents, and we are proud to provide affordable resources for their everyday needs. We look forward continuing to deepen that relationship for years to come.”