Dollar General Literacy Foundation Renews Commitment to the American Dream Literacy Initiative
CHICAGO, IL – Thanks to a generous grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, the American Library Association (ALA) and its Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services (ODLOS) will administer a fifth round of American Dream grants to public libraries to expand services to adult English language learners.
To date, the American Dream literacy initiative has provided funding to more than 150 libraries across the United States. The grants allow libraries to augment their print and digital English as a Second Language (ESL) collections; increase computer access and training; provide job training; hold English Language Learning (ELL), General Educational Development (GED) and citizenship classes; and raise the visibility of services for immigrant populations. As part of the initiative, American Dream libraries build replicable programs, develop coalition-building strategies and provide annotated lists of vetted resources for libraries across the country.
To be eligible for funding, the applicant institution must be a public library serving adult English language learners and must be within 20 miles of a Dollar General Store, distribution center or corporate office. For Round five of the program, ALA will offer tailored categories of funding—one-time $5,000 seed grants for libraries in rural and other small communities to develop their collections and services for immigrants and one-time $10,000 grants for libraries with the experience and capacity to expand existing programs, add services and foster community partnerships. The application will launch in the fall.
To learn more about the American Dream initiative, please visit www.ala.org/americandream.
About the ALA
The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 60,000 members. Its mission is to promote the highest quality library and information services and public access to information.
About Dollar General Literacy Foundation
Since 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has improved the functional literacy of adults by providing grants to non-profit organizations dedicated to the advancement of literacy.
Dollar General’s commitment to literacy began with J.L. Turner, co-founder of Dollar General. With only a third grade education, J.L. overcame tremendous odds and built the company now known as Dollar General Corporation.
The adult literacy grants program and the family literacy grants program are funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. The Foundation supports non-profit organizations within Dollar General’s market area that are established for public use and have an active 501(c)(3) status under the Internal Revenue Service Code.
