Erie House Receives Two Grants Totaling $12,000 from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation
This week, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded Erie Neighborhood House $12,000 through two separate grants to support adult literacy year-round and a summer literacy program for children. The local grant awards are part of more than $8.3 million in grants awarded to more than 1,000 schools, nonprofits and organizations across the 44 states that Dollar General serves.
“Literacy is a key competency that runs across our educational programming, from childcare all the way through our programs for adults,” said Kirstin Chernawsky, executive director at Erie House. “We are so grateful to be able to partner with the Dollar General Literacy Foundation to deliver programs that will support readers of all ages right here in our community.”
A $10,000 grant will go toward the English as a Second Language (ESL) program and Adult Basic Education (ABE), a newer initiative focused on language, literacy, math, science, technology and workforce readiness. The ABE program’s purpose is to help adult learners who have advanced beyond the scope of ESL, which focuses primarily on language and literacy, to continue their education in pursuit of a GED and/or post-secondary education.
This sort of investment in adult education brings a great return: According to the United Way, an individual with a high school equivalency diploma will make an average of 37.5% more than someone without one.
Last year 95% of kids in the READS summer program improved their reading scores—more than 2x the rate of their peers who didn’t attend the program.
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation provided a separate $2,000 grant to help fund the READS summer program designed to support reading growth and aid with learning retention for children in Little Village during the summer months.
Last year 95% of children participating in this summer extension improved their reading scores, more than double the rate of their peers who didn’t attend the program and in stark contrast with typical reading score drops following summer break.
“We are honored to fund literacy and education initiatives, which support our mission of Serving Others,” said Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO. “The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2018 and a legacy of helping people improve their lives through literacy and education. Including this grant, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has provided more than $154 million in funding to help more than 10 million people. We believe these programs can have a positive impact on the communities we serve and we look forward to continuing to partner with organizations dedicated to making a difference in the lives of millions of Americans.”
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support initiatives that help others improve their lives through literacy and education. Since its inception in 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $154 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 10 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education.
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 $154 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 10 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.
About Dollar General Corporation
Dollar General Corporation has been delivering value to shoppers for more than 75 years. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day!® by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, housewares and seasonal items at everyday low prices in convenient neighborhood locations. Dollar General operated 14,609 stores in 44 states as of March 2, 2018. In addition to high-quality, private brands, Dollar General sells products from America’s most-trusted brands such as Clorox, Energizer, Procter & Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg’s, General Mills, and PepsiCo.