Waynesburg Elementary School was recently awarded The Dollar General Literacy Foundation grant in the amount of $4,000 to help support youth literacy efforts.
Waynesburg Elementary Principal Chad Davis said the school plans to use the grant to improve the selection of books available for students in the school library and to purchase the Accelerated Reader program for all students in 1st through 5th grades. AR is a student comprehension program that rewards students for reading and meeting their individual reading goals. In total Principal Davis said they would be able to add 80-100 new books for students to check out and read.
The funding is part of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation’s recent award of nearly $2.6 million across the country to support more than 300,000 students in more than 600 schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations in the communities Dollar General calls home.
Crystal Ruckel, the school librarian, expressed her excitement for how this grant will impact the school. “We are adding new books to our collection that will hopefully be interesting to our students and the Accellerated Reader program will essentially improve students’ literacy skills through reading practice and test taking. This program will help increase their connection to reading and comprehension, which will, in turn, make them stronger readers.”
“We are proud to award these grants to literacy and education programs across the country and support their meaningful work of expanding children’s joy of reading and creating a foundation for future educational growth,” shared Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. “We are excited to make a difference in thousands of students’ lives through these donations and look forward to making more positive impacts as we celebrate the Foundation’s 30th anniversary year.”
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.