Five North Georgia nonprofits received literacy grants from the Dollar General Foundation to support local literacy and education initiatives throughout the communities that the discount store serves.
The Foundation made the announcement Thursday, naming the five agencies in their list of $246,000 donated.
The most money was given to Gilmer Learning Center, Inc. in Ellijay. They were awarded $10,000.
Forsyth County Certified Literate Community Program (Literacy Forsyth) in Cumming was awarded $8,000. Fannin Literacy Action Group in Blue Ridge was also awarded $8,000.
Hart Partners/CIS of Hart County, Inc. was awarded $3,000 and First Foundation Kids, Inc. in Duluth received $2,000.
Overall, Dollar General Foundation donated $31,000 to the North Georgia nonprofits, all of which are within a 15 mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center.
The money will be used to promote literacy and learning across a variety of programs, including childhood summer reading, adult reading programs and tutoring, high school equivalency exam preparation and English learning help for individuals. The Foundation estimates the money granted to all of their Georgia organizations will positively impact more than 22,000 people in the state.
“For more than 26 years, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has invested in 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."
A full list of grant winners and more information about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation is available online. Organizations can also find information on the youth literacy grants program that are open until May 21 there.
