GOODLETTSVILLE TN – The Tennessee-based Dollar General Literacy Foundation has included the YWCA Tri-County Area among five non-profit agencies in Montgomery, Berks, and Chester counties that are being awarded a total of $45,000 in literacy grants, the foundation said early Thursday (May 11, 2023).
The money is part of what the foundation called a “historic” single-day distribution of more than $13 million to organizations across 47 states where Dollar General operates stores or facilities. It is specifically earmarked “to support adult, family and summer literacy programs,” it added. The foundation this year observes its 30th anniversary.
Receiving grants in the three-county region are, in Montgomery County, the YWCA Tri-County Area of Pottstown, and the Literacy Council of Norristown, in amounts of $10,000 each; in Berks County, the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters of Reading, $10,000; and in Chester County, the Adult Literacy Program at Kennett Library in Kennett Square, $10,000, and The Stone Garage in Kennett Square, $5,000.
The grants “aim to support schools, public libraries, and nonprofit organizations within a 15-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center in implementing new literacy initiatives or expanding existing ones,” according to the foundation. Funding may be used to buy new technology, equipment, books, materials, or software to enhance literacy programs.
The total of grants to 40 organizations in Pennsylvania alone totaled more than $220,000. The foundation estimated the grants in the state would “positively impact the lives of nearly 12,000 individuals.”
“We believe everyone deserves the opportunity and access to a quality education, and we look forward to seeing these literacy grants inspire reading and build brighter futures,” foundation Executive Director Denine Torr said.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash, used under license
