The Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently announced plans to help make a difference during the upcoming academic year with the award of more than $4 million in literacy grants. With these funds, educators at nearly 850 schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations across the communities that Dollar General (DG: NYSE) calls home will have additional resources to support new and ongoing youth literacy programs. A complete list of the recipients can be found at www.dgliteracy.org.

“This year, many teachers, libraries and literacy organizations are facing new challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s chief executive officer and Dollar General Literacy Foundation board member. “Despite the unprecedented obstacles, we admire the tremendous efforts and commitments from educators as they work to provide students with the tools they need to develop their literacy skills. We hope these funds will help support their plans to advance learning and deliver quality instruction in our hometown communities.”

In 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation was created to honor the Company’s co-founder, J.L. Turner, who was functionally illiterate and never completed a formal education. During the past 27 years, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $186 million in grants to schools, libraries and organizations to support adult, family, summer and youth literacy. These funds have helped positively impact more than 12 million people by providing funding and resources to help individuals take their first steps toward learning to read, learning English, or completing their high school equivalency.

As part of its ongoing commitment to improve individuals’ lives through literacy and education, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awards grants each year to literacy organizations located within a 15-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center. Applications for the 2021 Dollar General Literacy Foundation grant cycle will be available at www.dgliteracy.org on January 4, 2021.

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