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The Dollar General Literacy Foundation (DGLF) recently awarded Columbus Elementary School PTO a $5,000 grant to support its youth literacy program Teach 4 Columbus. This local grant is a part of more than $4.1 million recently awarded to non-profit organizations, libraries and schools in Dollar General’s hometown communities across the country to help extend a brighter future for K-12 students.
The Teach 4 Columbus literacy program is made up of a dedicated group of volunteers from the community who provide direct support to students at Columbus Elementary School. The students in this program need extra support for their reading skills. The purpose of this literacy program is to improve the basic skills of students who have not achieved mastery of English (speaking, reading, and writing) at their grade level.
“On behalf of the Columbus Elementary School PTO Board, we are extremely grateful to all the volunteers who make this program possible, and especially to Tracey Langhamer, the Reading Interventionist and MTSS Coordinator for Columbus Elementary School, for her direct support of this program,” CES PTO board member Monica Heffley said.
The Teach 4 Columbus program will be using grant funds to purchase materials such as academic games, fact fluency, sight words materials, phonic level readers, and other literacy materials to assist readers with their literacy goals.
“When students have access to books, technology and educational resources, they gain tools that can support their learning for years to come,” said Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. “Through our youth literacy grants, we are honored to help strengthen schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations literacy programs and resources. We are grateful to support the meaningful work they do to help young learners grow, thrive and pursue brighter academic futures in DG communities nationwide.”
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. Each year, DGLF awards funds to nonprofit organizations, schools, and libraries within a 15mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center to support adult, family, summer and youth literacy programs.
The Foundation also offers a student referral program for individuals interested in learning how to read, speak English, or prepare for the high school equivalency exam. Referrals to a local organization that provides free literacy services are available online here or through referral cards found in the Learn to Read brochures that are available at the cash register of every Dollar General store.
A comprehensive list of grant recipients may be found online at www.dgliteracy.org/.
