(Media release from Georgia Northwestern Technical College):
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently awarded Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) an $8,000 grant to support adult literacy. This local grant is part of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation’s recent award of a $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 appreciate the generous contribution to our Adult Education program from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation,” said Lisa Shaw, GNTC vice president of Adult Education. “This funding will allow our program to address the need for students in our service area to acquire a high school equivalency diploma.”
“Students with financial barriers are unable to complete the program because they are unable to pay for the GED® or HiSet tests,” Shaw explained. “This grant will help us provide scholarships to complete the final tests helping students who are showing academic progress move forward with their educational and career goals.”
According to GNTC’s 2021 annual report, GNTC’s Adult Education program served 1,539 students in the previous year. The Adult Education program offers instruction in Adult Learning Centers throughout the college’s nine-county service area. Instructional areas include preparation for the GED® and HiSET tests, adult secondary education, adult basic education and English as a Second Language. Centers have computer labs, study materials and resources and professional adult education staff for day, evening and distance education programs. Classes operate year-round for fall, spring and summer semesters.
“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 at https://www.dgliteracy.org/ or through referral cards found in the Learn to Read brochures that are available at the cash register of every Dollar General store.
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 $216 million in grants, helping more than 15.4 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.
