The Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently awarded Clarendon County Adult Education a $7,500 grant to support adult literacy. This local grant is part of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation’s recent award of $10.5 million donation to support summer, family, and adult literacy programs, representing the organization’s largest one-day grant donation in its 29-year history.
“We are very excited to partner with the Dollar General Literacy Foundation again to engage our students in Adult Education and the community of Clarendon County,” says Lara Kolb, Director of Clarendon County Adult Education. “If you ever wonder about that extra $1 or $2 they ask you about at check out, well, it stays here,”adds Kolb.
Clarendon County Adult Education is one of only twelve other programs in S.C. and 398 programs across the nation to receive the award according to Kolb.
According to Kolb, funds will be used to provide instruction for students working toward a high school or career- readiness credential. “During our 2022-202 school-year, we continued operation of federal legislation, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which requires adult education to provide both academic and career guidance for our students. With these funds, we will continue our partnerships with local agencies and service providers to identify goals and career pathways for enrollees in our program. We are happy that we can work with Dollar General to make a difference in the future in our community,” explains Kolb.
“For nearly 30 years, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has been proud to invest in literacy and education programs in our hometown communities,” said Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. “The recent and significant shifts in the educational landscape have made the Foundation’s mission more critically important. As we work to create access to high-quality instruction for all individuals, we share our gratitude for the educators who are working to uplift and empower others. We hope these funds will have a meaningful impact on students and teachers across the country and look forward to seeing the positive impact they have on learners.”
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, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awards funds to nonprofit organizations, schools, and libraries within a 15-mile 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.
About Clarendon County Adult Education:
Clarendon County Adult Education recently celebrated the graduation of 33 students from its three sites in Clarendon County. The program will operate with a full schedule of day and evening classes beginning Monday, August 21, 2023. We will continue to offer free career readiness testing for the public on Friday mornings at 8:30 a.m. Please contact the Adult Ed office 803-473-2531, ext 637 for more information.
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 $197 million in grants, helping more than 14 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy, a general education diploma or English proficiency. Cal Turner, Jr. founded the Dollar General Literacy
Foundation to honor his grandfather and Dollar General’s co-founder, J.L. Turner, who was functionally illiterate having dropped out of school in the third grade to support his family. The Foundation aims to provide support to schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations that seek to improve adult, summer, youth and family literacy initiatives. To learn more about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, visit www.dgliteracy.org.
